Brendan's Journey
by jmoul18
Summary: Brendan Maple is an eighteen year old boy with the dream of becoming a Champion. But, he is suddenly uprooted from his home in Goldenrod City, and moves to an unfamiliar region. When he meets Gwen, a sassy young Ralts, he realizes that this move may be better than he could've hoped(Hoennshipping). (Cover Image commissioned from Chocolexii, formerly FireGirl6464, on Deviantart)
1. A Momentous Change

**Hello everybody, and welcome to my newest story** _ **Brendan's Journey**_ **. This chapter is going to be a bit different from the opening chapters of other Hoenn adventure stories centered on Brendan/May. Brendan and May will both be eighteen years old (I have my reasons).**

 **As with all of my stories, constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged.**

 **Enjoy.**

 _A Momentous Change_

It was a great day for Brendan Maple as he walked the streets of Goldenrod City in the Johto region. The sun was shining, and he was finally free of high school. While he wandered the streets he grew up on, the brown-haired eighteen year-old was lost in his thoughts, reflecting on his family and his life.

His father, Norman, had insisted that Brendan go through all of school, rather than stopping at ten as most students did to become trainers. That was the route that Norman had taken, and the results were unquestionable. The man was a fantastic Pokémon trainer, and he had to be to maintain his status as the Goldenrod Gym Leader, and currently one of the strongest gym leaders of the Johto region. Norman was also completely obsessed with Pokémon, and their training. When he was home, Norman almost always talked about the gym, especially when there were challengers. Although Norman wanted Brendan to take over the Goldenrod gym one day, he never tried to force Brendan down any particular path, aside from education. Currently, since Brendan had no real interest in becoming a Gym Leader, Norman had been watching the trainers who trained in his gym, and he already had one in particular chosen if Brendan never changed his mind. That trainer was, in Brendan's opinion, an annoying girl who relied too heavily on one Pokémon and one strategy to win.

His mother, Caroline, was a very kind-hearted woman, but she could be strict when she needed to be. And that was something Brendan knew all too well from the days when he was a bit too rebellious for his own good. While she was not quite on Norman's level, Caroline still loved Pokémon. She had never been much of a trainer when she was younger, but her Sylveon was a constant in the family's apartment. That Sylveon had watched over Brendan throughout his life, even occasionally walking with him both to and from school.

When he was finished reminiscing about his family, Brendan started looking to the future. In about two weeks, he was scheduled to go to New Bark Town to get his first Pokémon so his journey could begin, and he already knew what Pokémon he was going to choose. He was planning on selecting Totodile, then developing his team as he went. He then planned to travel both the Johto and Kanto regions, and collect all of the gym badges from both regions and then, when that was over, he and his Pokémon would challenge the Elite Four and become Champion.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. Brendan was shaken from his stupor as his cell phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that was Norman calling. "Strange," he thought, "Dad never calls unless it's about something important." So he answered the call.

"Hey Dad, what's going on?" Brendan said in a cheerful voice.

"Hey Brendan, would you mind coming home? Your mother and I need to talk to you about something in person," Norman said in a serious voice.

"Sure," Brendan said, slightly concerned by his father's tone of voice. "I'm by the department store, so I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Alright, I will see you when you get here," Norman said as he hung up. Brendan did the same and began to make his way through the winding city. Luckily, he could navigate Goldenrod City in his sleep, so the walk was not a long one.

Brendan got to the apartment and was about to open the door when he heard his mom and dad talking inside. He pressed his ear to the door and listened, hoping to get a hint about what was going on.

"So, what are you going to do about the gym?" Caroline said.

"Well, I suppose that it will need to go to Whitney, but this is honestly this would be a major step up for the family," Norman said. "But still, I'm not sure how Brendan will react. He's been so excited about finally starting his journey, and he already seemed to have planned everything out."

"Well, he is a strong kid, he should be fine," Caroline said. "Besides, Hoenn is a tropical region, and the Pokémon there are pretty exotic compared to what we have in Johto."

Brendan couldn't wait any longer. He had figured it out already, but he wanted to hear it from his parents. He opened the apartment door and entered to see both his parents sitting at the kitchen table. Before he got too far, however, Sylveon came running up to him, greeting Brendan.

"Hey Sylveon. I missed you too," Brendan said, petting Sylveon's back while scratching her under the chin, which earned a happy mewling from the Pokémon.

"Hey Brendan," Norman said. "Thanks for coming home so quickly."

"Sure," Brendan said, hiding his anger at the situation. "So, what is this all about?"

"Well, I got a call from the Pokémon League and they need a new gym leader in Petalburg City in the Hoenn region. They asked me to fill the position," Norman said.

"I'm guessing you said yes," Brendan said, not too enthusiastically.

Norman sighed deeply. "You heard the last part of our conversation, didn't you?" Brendan just nodded in response. "I figured as much…I'm sorry that this had to happen right before you were supposed to leave for your journey."

"It's alright, I can start my journey in Hoenn," Brendan said.

Norman sat quietly for a little bit. "Thanks for being okay with it. If it makes you feel any better, I already spoke with the local professor, Birch. He said he'd be more than happy to provide you with your first Pokémon. We are going to be leaving in about a week's time. The Pokémon League in Hoenn will be in charge of the entire moving process."

Brendan just nodded. "Alright. If you don't mind, I am going to go for a walk for a while," he said.

"Alright, take all the time you need, just stay out of trouble," Caroline said.

"I will Mom," Brendan said with a slight smile, although he was trying to hold back his anger and frustration at this whole situation. His plans for his journey were gone, and there was no way for him to make his plan for Hoenn so quickly.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to wing it on my journey," he said in a depressed tone. "Well, I guess this is a good opportunity for a fresh start. Who knows, I could make some amazing friends and raise strong Pokémon that most people in Johto have never even seen before." Just as he said that, Brendan looked up and saw that he was walking past a Kantoan Eagle outlet store. It was supposed to have really good clothes for Pokémon trainers, so Brendan decided to check it out. Besides, he felt like he needed a new look to go along with the new region he was moving to.

"Hey, how can I help you?" the clerk, whose name tag said Lana, asked.

"I'm going for a new outfit for my journey, but I will be going to the Hoenn region. So, not the typical gear for Johto," Brendan said.

"Ah, well we have a few sets," Lana said. "Considering you're going to Hoenn, and looking at you, I think we have the perfect one for you. Wait one moment while I get all of the components." A few minutes later, Brendan was in the dressing room, and he had to admit that the stylist really picked out the perfect outfit for him. The top was a mostly red short-sleeve shirt with two black stripes on the front, and a black collar and shoulders. The pants came down to about mid-calf, and looked like black bike shorts with grey pockets and leg cuffs. He was also wearing a green backpack that slung over his right shoulder and connected at his left hip. The shoes were on point as well; they were all white with green soles and strap **(Just for a clarification, the outfit is the one from ORAS)**. There was, however, one thing that Brendan thought was missing. He needed a hat. When he came out of the dressing room, he had all of the clothes folded neatly.

"Alright, this outfit is almost perfect. I just need a hat to go with it," he said.

"Sounds good, I will head to the check-out counter to ring these up while you take a look at our hat selection," Lana said.

"Thanks Lana," Brendan said as he went over to the hat rack. He was browsing for a while before he noticed the one that went with his outfit perfectly. It was a white beanie with a black band at the bottom. That band had an orange, half-Pokéball design at the front. This was the hat for him.

"Alright Lana, I think that this should be everything," Brendan said as he approached the check-out desk.

"I like your choice of hat," Lana said as she scanned the hat and totaled the transaction. "Your total is five hundred PokéDollars." Brendan paid and was soon on his way. As he left, he thought to himself, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have a change of scenery. Besides, half the fun of being on a journey is the unpredictability.

The next week, Norman left for the Hoenn region. He had to go in person to close on the new house, and he needed to get settled at his gym. In the apartment, there were Machoke and Alakazam placing the Maple family's belongings into a box then teleporting them into the moving van outside their building. Brendan was doing his best to stay out of their way, but he was not doing such a good job of that. So, he decided to wait in the lounge for the crew to finish, with Sylveon curled up on his lap, half asleep.

"Hey, Brendan," Caroline said as she came up from the lobby. She was holding a pizza from Growlithe's Pizzeria. "I got us some dinner, so come on, let's go eat."

"Thanks Mom," Brendan said with a slight smile as he went into the apartment, Sylveon close on his heels, and the apartment was almost completely empty now, and the mover's Pokémon were just teleporting to the truck with the last box. Since Brendan and Caroline had no kitchen table to eat at, they simply stood at the counter.

"By the way, I've been wondering something," Caroline said.

"What is it?" Brendan said between bites of pepperoni pizza.

"What did you buy when you went for that walk last week?" she asked. "I remember that you had a bag from Kantoan Eagle when you came home, but I haven't seen you in any new clothes."

"Oh, that," Brendan chuckled. "Well, it's the outfit I'll be wearing on my journey."

"Well now I need to see it," Caroline teased. "I can't let my son go out looking too foolish."

"Hey, I know I don't have the best fashion sense sometimes, but this time the stylist sorted it out," Brendan said in an almost joking tone.

"Well that's a relief," she said. "Still let me see it sometime soon."

"Alright, how about when we get to…whatever town we're moving to," Brendan said, still unfamiliar with the home town he'd need to get used to.

"Littleroot Town is where we're going," Caroline said with a bit of an eye roll. "I think this is the third time I've told you."

"Sorry, but you know I can be forgetful about these things," he said back with a laugh.

Brendan loved these moments with his family, even if Norman was gone for the moment. His mother always made any night a good night. The conversation was great, until it got interrupted by Sylveon stealing a slice of pizza from the box, which caused both Caroline and Brendan to burst out laughing. It was a good night for their last in Goldenrod City.

The next day was the day they left for Hoenn. There was, unfortunately, a slight problem. When Norman left for Hoenn, he took the family car with him. This left Brendan and Caroline with only one option: they had to ride in the moving van. This wouldn't have been a problem, except the cab of the van had only two seatbelts, and only enough room for one Pokémon along with the people. So, Brendan did what had to be done.

"Honey, are you sure you will be okay riding in the back with our stuff?" Caroline said, clearly worried for Brendan's safety.

"Yeah Mom, I will be fine," Brendan said. He was now dressed in his new outfit for his journey, which fit him perfectly and was made for hot weather. "I'll just find a comfortable position and sleep the whole way there."

Caroline sighed. She knew Brendan would be fine, but still, it would not be a comfortable ride for the boy, but she would not be able to convince him otherwise. "Alright, just be careful not to break anything, you included," she said.

"I'll be careful Mom, don't worry," Brendan said as he opened the hatch to the moving van. "Just leave the vent between the cab and the trailer open so I can get some fresh air in here.

"Of course," she said. "And your outfit does look very good on you. It should be perfect for Hoenn."

"Thanks Mom, now you and Sylveon should get into the cab so we can get going," he said with a smile as he climbed into the surprisingly spacious moving van.

"We will. Once you hear the van start, please close the trailer," she said.

"Sure thing," Brendan said. With that, Caroline and Sylveon both went to the front of the van and entered the cab. Brendan just sighed to himself and closed the back hatch and moved to the vent up front, opening it. He didn't mind being in here alone, since it gave him time to think and mentally prepare for the new region. What would it be like? Would he make friends there? What kind of Pokémon lived there? There were so many questions that he wanted answered, but he knew that he would have to wait. So, he found a few stacks of strong and stable boxes and laid down on them. Just as he did that, the van roared to life and began to move. There was no turning back now. Brendan was no longer a Johto resident. Now, he belonged to the Hoenn region.

It was almost twelve hours later when Caroline called back to Brendan that they were within five minutes of Littleroot Town, and their new home. So, Brendan stood up, walked around a little to get his legs moving again, and then waited for the truck to stop. Sure enough, five minutes later, the truck came to a stop, and he heard the doors to the cab opening and closing. Unfortunately, he needed to wait to get out since he could not open the back hatch from the inside. Brendan then noticed most of the items that came from his bedroom vanished, presumably teleported to where they were supposed to go. Shortly after those items vanished, the back hatch opened, blinding Brendan with the glaring sunlight as his eyes adjusted. When he could properly see, Brendan leapt out of the van and took in his surroundings.

"Hey Brendan, we finally made it," Caroline said. "When you're ready, why don't you come inside and see our new house."

"I'll be there in a second Mom," Brendan said.

The town was pretty small which was completely new to Brendan. There were about twenty buildings around, most of which were houses, one looked like a school, and the other looked like a Pokémon laboratory, which Brendan assumed belonged to Professor Birch.

Aside from the buildings, however, the climate was incredible. It was just less than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, partly cloudy, with a slight breeze. There were palm trees as well as other tropical fauna throughout the town, and toward what Brendan assumed was the first route out of the town.

As he was taking in the scenery, Brendan saw some movement outside the house next door. When he looked over, he lost his breath momentarily. He had just laid eyes on possibly the most beautiful girl ever. She was about his age, with brown hair that framed her face with two, long bangs that forked to both sides. The rest of her hair was tied back with a red bow with two white stripes, one for each loop. She had on a red tank-top over a black blouse. She had on white short shorts (and I mean short) over a pair of what looked like biker shorts. Around her waist was a yellow and green fanny pack, with a belt. Her shoes were yellow, with black stripes, and orange soles.

Across the way, the girl, May Birch, was having a similar reaction to Brendan. She knew that Norman's family was supposed to be moving in today, and she had heard that he had a son about her age, but she never imagined he'd be so handsome. May, much like Brendan, had waited until completing high school before becoming a Pokémon trainer (courtesy of her father, the professor), so she was also eighteen years old. She was about to go introduce herself when Brendan waved to her. May smiled and simply waved back, but before she could take the conversation any farther, the woman that May assumed to be this boy's mother came out, spoke a few short words to Brendan, and they went inside. May just remained stunned. Now, she was determined to meet that boy and learn more about him. In the meantime, however, she still had to go help her father with his research, so she walked to the Pokémon laboratory, ready for some work.

Brendan entered his bedroom, a bit frustrated that his mom interrupted his chance to go talk to the new neighbor, but he could deal with it. Meanwhile, he had to admit that the mover's Pokémon got the set up even better than he could have hoped for. In addition to all of the old furniture and the computer, Norman had also bought Brendan a clock as a gift, and it was hanging on the wall across from his bed. After checking to make sure everything was in place, Brendan went downstairs, where he saw his mother in the living room, watching the new television. When she saw Brendan she called him over with clear excitement.

"Hey Brendan, come over here, there is a news report about Petalburg Gym!" Caroline said. It took a moment for Brendan to remember that Petalburg Gym was where his father worked, so he came running. Unfortunately, just as he got in front of the television, the farewell was already being given. "I'm sorry Brendan, I didn't realize it was almost over," Caroline apologized.

"That's okay. It will probably show up again on reruns," Brendan said as he checked his watch. It read 10:00 pm. "Wow, it got late really fast. I think I'm going to bed, it's been a long day," he said.

"Yeah, I agree," Caroline said with a yawn. "I will see you in the morning."

"Good night Mom!" Brendan responded as he went back up to his room, got into his sleeping clothes, and went to sleep. Tomorrow, he planned to explore the town and hopefully introduce himself to the neighbor.

The next morning, around 8:00 am, Brendan was slowly waking up. He was on his back, and he felt a slight weight on his chest. He smiled, assuming it was Sylveon, who loved to check on him at night, but she often fell asleep shortly after joining him.

 _Hey, you're awake! I was wondering when you would get up!_ said a completely foreign voice, which sounded like it came from a young girl. Brendan's eyes snapped open, and in front of him was a white Pokémon that stood just above one foot, with green hair that looked like a bowl was on its head, and a two red spikes coming from the front and back of its head. Its body looked like it was wearing a dress that was just a bit too long for it.

Brendan bolted upright in shock at seeing this unfamiliar Pokémon. What was it, and how did it get in the house? _Hey, calm down_ said the voice again. Brendan looked around, wondering if there was another possible source for that voice, but soon realized that it was only him and this Pokémon. _To answer your questions, I am a Ralts. I got in here by teleporting here._

"A Ralts?" Brendan said as he calmed down, realizing that this Pokémon must be psychic-type, and must be using telepathy to communicate with him. "I'm sorry for jumping like that, I just wasn't expecting to see an unfamiliar Pokémon in my bedroom," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

 _It's okay. If I had been you, I probably would have done the same thing_ , the Ralts giggled. _My name is Gwen by the way. What's yours?_

"I'm Brendan Maple," Brendan said. "It's really nice to meet you. Honestly I have never seen a Ralts before."

 _You live in Hoenn, but you've never seen a Ralts? How does that happen?_ Gwen said with another giggle.

"Well, I only just moved here yesterday. I'm really from Goldenrod City in the Johto region," he said.

 _I guess that makes sense. You know, you're a really nice human. Most would have thrown a Pokéball at me by now_ , she said with a smile.

"Well, I'm not a trainer yet. I was in school longer than most trainers," he explained.

 _Oh. Well, do you have a dream?_ Gwen asked.

"Personally, I want to become the Champion of a League," Brendan said.

 _That's a really nice dream, but it shoots really high. It's a lot like my dream of becoming the strongest Gardevoir in history,_ Gwen said as she sat next to Brendan and put her hand on her chin, looking like she was frustrated. _I just haven't found any trainers who are strong enough to help me reach that dream._

Brendan smiled at Gwen. While he wasn't sure what a Gardevoir was, he figured it was the final evolutionary stage for Ralts. "You know, since our dreams are so similar, maybe you and I could become a team," he said.

Gwen pondered this for a moment. _I agree, but only under one condition._

"Name it," Brendan said.

 _Once I have been officially captured, please do not make me stay in a Pokéball._

Brendan chuckled. "You don't like being confined, do you?"

Gwen just giggled. _No, I can't stand being kept from moving around_.

"I think I can work with that," Brendan said, extending his hand in friendship. "Once I become an official trainer, you will be my first Pokémon."

Gwen just smiled and shook Brendan's hand. _It's a deal. You and I work together to become the greatest team in history._

Brendan just nodded and smiled. It seemed Hoenn was going to be much better than he expected. He had a beautiful neighbor, and he had just made a friendship with a new Pokémon whom shared his dream. If that was to be an indicator, then his journey would be amazing.

But then, only time would tell.


	2. The New Neighbor

**So I realized that I forgot the legal disclaimer on my first chapter, so here it is: I don't own any aspect of Pokémon. I am making this for fun, so please don't sue me. I'm flat broke anyway.**

 _The New Neighbor_

As Caroline was preparing breakfast, she began to hear Brendan talking upstairs. It was almost like he was having a conversation with somebody, but there was nobody else responding (nor should there have been). The woman just shook her head. Brendan must have gotten a phone call to wake him up. Well, he'd be down shortly, so she'd ask about it then; and a few minutes later, she heard him coming down. She was expecting to see Brendan already showered and dressed (he was) like he always did, so she didn't turn around at first. "Hey, how'd you sleep, honey?"

 _He slept pretty well until I woke him up!_ said a voice.

"Gwen, you were supposed to wait until she turned around," Brendan laughed in response.

Caroline turned around when Brendan said the new name, and she saw the new resident riding on Brendan's shoulder. "Oh my, aren't you a little cutie!" she said as she grabbed Gwen from Brendan's shoulder, hugging the little Pokémon. "When did you sneak in here?"

 _In the early hours of the morning,_ Gwen explained. _I teleported into Brendan's room, and when he woke up, we talked for a while. My name is Gwen!_

"I thought I heard you talking to somebody up there," Caroline said with a smile as she addressed Brendan. "So, I take it you and Gwen are friends now."

"Yes, we are," Brendan said proudly. "And we agreed that we will be working together to become the regional Champion."

 _It's true. We both want to be the strongest, so we decided to help each other get there,_ Gwen said with a lot of enthusiasm.

"Well, before either of you can do that, you'll need some breakfast," Caroline said in a motherly tone. With that, she placed Ralts onto the table and went back into the kitchen to grab a plate of eggs and bacon for Brendan and three Oran Berries for Gwen. "Enjoy."

"Thank you Mom!" Brendan said.

 _Yeah thanks!_ Gwen said as well, taking a bite of an Oran Berry.

"Oh, by the way, why don't you go introduce yourself to the neighbors after breakfast," Caroline said, giving Brendan a sly wink.

"I was actually planning to do that," Brendan said cheerfully. Caroline just smiled at her son, and went back to get her own breakfast.

Within the hour, Brendan was walking to the next-door neighbor's house with Gwen on his shoulder. The house looked pretty similar to his new home, but it was a mirror image. It was a two-story Tudor style house, with some vibrant landscaping and a white picket fence.

Brendan walked up to the door, and took a deep breath before knocking loudly. Within ten seconds, the door opened, revealing a woman around Caroline's age, with dark hair and more rounded features. "Hello young man, how can I help you?" she said.

"Hi, my name's Brendan Maple. I just moved in yesterday so I figured I would come over and introduce myself," Brendan said, sounding as confident as ever.

"OH MY ARCEUS, you're Norman's son!" the woman said. "Please do come in!"

"Thank you, Mrs…" Brendan said, trailing off.

"Birch, Lily Birch. You can call me Lily," she said.

"Alright, thank you Lily," Brendan said as he entered her home.

 _Yes, thank you!_ Gwen said.

"And who is this?" Lily said as she noticed the Ralts on Brendan's shoulder.

"Her name is Gwen. I actually just met her this morning," he said with a chuckle.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you too, Gwen," Lily said. "My daughter, May should be around here somewhere. She's about your age."

"Yeah, I think I saw her when I first arrived yesterday," Brendan said. "She and I waved to each other, but we didn't get a chance to talk."

"Well, she should be upstairs in her room, go on up and introduce yourself to her. It's the third door on the right. She may have earbuds in, so make some noise to get her attention if you need to," Lily said.

"Thank you ma'am," Brendan said before walking up the stairs of the Birch household. He went to the right, and surely enough, he found May's room. It had white walls, but it was covered with posters of contest stars, boy bands (like the Back Squirt Boys), and some chick flicks. There were even a few posters featuring male gym leaders from around the world, and Brendan was shocked to come face-to-face with a picture of his own father which labeled him as the Goldenrod Gym leader still.

There was a red carpet in the center, with a red-covered bed right next to it and a red bean bag chair in the center. There was a book shelf containing some interesting titles, like _Harry Delphox_ , and then there were crap titles, like _Twilight._ Beside the shelf was a computer desk, which was a bit disorganized, but similar to the layout he used.

And sitting at that desk was…nobody. The room was empty except for a single Pokéball in the center of the red carpet. Brendan was a bit curious about what was inside, so he walked over to it. Just as he got to the Pokéball, he heard a gasp at the door.

"Umm, Hi. My name's Brendan. I'm sorry about barging in here. Your mom told me I should come up and introduce my…self," Brendan said as he turned to face his new neighbor. That was when he realized why May had gasped. She only had on a towel, and her hair was soaking wet; she must have just stepped out of the shower. At that moment, both Brendan and May turned redder than radishes. "I – can wait outside," Brendan said as he averted his eyes to be polite.

"Alright…" May said through her embarrassment. She stepped into her room far enough so Brendan could leave and let her have her privacy while she got dressed. As soon as the door closed behind him, Brendan began to mentally curse himself. That was a great first impression. Sure, I will just be randomly in your room when you come back from a shower.

 _Hey, don't worry about it Brendan._ Gwen said in a comforting tone. _There was no way you could've known that was going to happen. She could tell that you were just as embarrassed as her._

"Thanks Gwen, but it still wasn't a good first impression," Brendan said.

 _Are you kidding? You showed that you were polite enough to not stare at her in a towel like a pervert_. Gwen said with a pat to the back of Brendan's head. _Besides, now you've dealt with an incredibly awkward situation with her. Now there isn't much that can compare to that in terms of awkwardness, so I'd say you two have just made a pretty strong path toward a friendship._ Brendan laughed a little bit at what Gwen said. She had a very valid point. _Well, it's time to see how well she will respond to what happened._

Before Brendan could ask what Gwen meant, the door to May's bedroom opened and she came out in the same outfit from yesterday, with her hair, which was still a little damp, styled the same way. On her waist was the Pokéball that was laying on her carpet earlier. She looked directly at Brendan and flashed an apologetic smile at him.

"Hey, sorry about that," May said. "My mom has a bad habit of sending people up to my room at the least opportune times."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. I guess I should have knocked before entering," Brendan said.

"Well, come on in and take a seat in that bean bag chair," May said, seeming to have dropped the subject and wanting to move on. Brendan did as she said, and he realized that the bean bag was probably the most comfortable he had ever sat on.

"So, let me start over. I'm Brendan Maple, and I'm your new neighbor," he said. "And this is Gwen, she just kind of appeared in my bedroom this morning."

 _Hiya!_ Gwen said with a wave.

May nodded. "Well I'm May Birch, and I'm really happy to meet you, Brendan," she said. "So, how do you like Hoenn?"

"I can tell you for sure that it is a major change from Goldenrod City in Johto," Brendan said with a laugh, which May reciprocated. "But even though I've only seen Littleroot so far, it's already looking to be amazing."

May nodded. "I would love to travel to Johto one day and experience the culture there," she said with a slightly dreamy tone. "I've never been away from Hoenn, so I have always wanted to travel the world."

 _Do you have any dreams?_ Gwen interjected, catching May off-guard.

"Actually, I do," she said with a smile. "As you've probably noticed," she said with a gesture toward the posters on her wall, "I like Pokémon contests."

"I'm guessing you want to become a coordinator," Brendan said.

"Yes, but not just any coordinator," May said, as she seemed to have a fire burning in her eyes. "I want to become Top Coordinator!"

 _Wow, your dream is like Brendan's_ Gwen said.

"Don't tell me you want to become top coordinator!" May said with a slightly worried tone.

"No, it's nothing like that," Brendan said with a chuckle. "I actually want to become the Pokémon League Champion. It was my dream when I lived in Johto, and since I moved before becoming a trainer there, I decided to just fulfill that dream in Hoenn."

"So, you're not a trainer yet either, huh?" May said with a sigh.

"No, my dad wanted me to finish high school first since he did it before his journey," Brendan said. "I guess Professor Birch and Norman Maple have something in common."

"Yeah, they do," May said. "But you know, you're really lucky to have a Gym Leader for a parent. You probably learned so much about battling from Norman's matches."

"Actually, I never got to watch Dad's official matches. He always wanted challengers to be clear-minded and free of distractions so they could fight at their best," Brendan said. "Besides, I'd say you're even luckier to have a Pokémon professor for a father."

"You'd think, but he is constantly having me help him out with his research, either in the field or in the lab. It can be fun at times, but others can be so boring and tedious," May said.

"I guess I can understand that," Brendan said. As he spoke, however, he noticed May's eyes go wide. "What's wrong?"

"Shoot, I forgot that I was supposed to go help Dad with his research. That's why I was showering!" she said. "I'm sorry, I wish we could talk longer, but I need to get going."

"No worries," Brendan said with a smile. "But before you go, could I get your phone number?"

May flashed a dazzling smile, "Of course, I was actually about to ask the same thing," she said. So she took out a pen and wrote her number on Brendan's palm before running to the door. "I'll see you around!" May said as she vanished.

Brendan was walking around Littleroot Town with Gwen on his shoulder. Gwen seemed to be ready to talk about anything, mostly random topics like food, games she liked to play, and her favorite color. Brendan talked with her to pass the time as he walked around the edge of town, and it was honestly fun talking to the little Pokémon.

Brendan was about to head home for lunch, but he stopped when he heard a loud cry coming from the north. He whipped around and saw that the only thing to the north was Route 101, the only route leading out of Littleroot Town. Brendan walked closer to the route, not sure whether the cry had come from a Pokémon he hadn't encountered, or if it was a person.

He got his answer when a human voice called out "HEEELLLP MEE!" Brendan didn't give it a second thought as he ran down the path, which opened into a large clearing. There he saw a rather peculiar sight. There was a man, about the same age and height as his father, wearing a white lab coat over a v-neck shirt and khaki shorts. He also wore sandals (slightly fashionable, but nothing Brendan would be caught dead wearing). He had brown hair, the same shade as May's hair, with a chin-strap beard. What was really strange about the situation, though, was that this man was being chased by two little grey dog-like Pokémon with black muzzles. A short distance away from this strange scene was a yellow and orange bag, which looked like it belonged to a field researcher.

The man noticed Brendan as he was being chased. "Hey, there are some Pokémon in my bag, use one and help me out!" he called out. While Brendan was sure that those dogs were not a serious threat (they looked as strong as Rattatas), he decided to help him out. So that's how Brendan wound up rummaging through the guy's bag, finding three Pokéballs. Without thinking, Brendan grabbed the one on his left and he threw it and it released a green gecko-like Pokémon.

"Treecko!" it said, and it looked directly at Brendan. Gwen also leapt from Brendan's shoulder, ready to battle.

 _You'll need both of us to win this!_ Gwen said. _By the way, this is Clint and he is a Treecko. He's a grass-type. Our opponents are Poochyena, which are dark types_ She said. _As for me, well you know I am a Ralts, so I am both psychic and fairy types._

"Thanks Gwen. Clint, I know you don't know me, but I need your help. Will you work with me?" Brendan asked. Clint nodded and turned toward the Poochyena, who had stopped their pursuit of their original target so they could face this new challenge. "Alright, Gwen, use Disarming Voice! Clint, use Pound!" Brendan said. He had just given his first commands as a Pokémon trainer.

Gwen gave a piercing call that caused both Poochyena to stagger and lose focus. This left them both open to Treecko's attack as he hit both of them with his tail. That was all it took for the two Pokémon to run off yipping with their tails between their legs.

"Great job you two, and thank you for helping me out Clint," Brendan said.

"Treecko-tree," the wood gecko said before Brendan returned him to his Pokéball.

"Whew, thank you for that young man. I was caught off-guard when those two Poochyena attacked," the older man said as he approached Brendan. Gwen had already teleported herself onto Brendan's shoulder.

"It was no problem sir," Brendan said. "Just trying to help out."

"I'm sorry, I've not introduced myself," the man said as he extended his hand. "I am Professor Edmund Birch."

"Oh, you're May's father!" Brendan said. "My name is Brendan Maple, Norman is my dad."

"Oh yes, May was talking about you," Prof. Birch said. "But, this is no place to talk, please walk with me to my lab." The professor picked up his bag, placed the two remaining Pokéballs inside, and he turned to leave.

"Wait, professor. Don't you want your Treecko back?" Brendan asked.

"Actually, I think that Treecko would be better off in your hands," Birch said as he began to walk away. "The way you battled made it seem like you two were made for each other."

Brendan looked at the Pokéball and shrugged. He wasn't going to deny that he had worked well with Clint, so he figured that training him to be even stronger would be a great idea. "By the way, Professor," Brendan said as he ran to catch up. "What Pokémon were in the other Pokéballs, if you don't mind me asking."

"The others were the fire and water starters of the Hoenn region. The fire type is Torchic. The water type is Mudkip," Birch said cheerfully.

"So Treecko is the grass-type starter," Brendan concluded.

"Correct," Birch said. "I'd tell you more about them, but I think that you would like to figure that out on your journey."

Brendan looked at Professor Birch in some confusion. "Your father told me that you were about to begin your Pokémon journey when you moved here," Birch said. Brendan nodded. He should have known that Norman would help him get his journey started.

 _Hey, Mr. Professor Birch!_ Gwen said, earning a chuckle from Birch.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even mention you. Who might you be, little Ralts?" the professor said with a smile.

 _My name is Gwen. Brendan and I will become the strongest trainer and Pokémon in the world!_ Gwen said with unbridled enthusiasm.

"Well, you two have some lofty goals," Professor Birch said as he reached into his pocket. "Well, since you two are going to be traveling together, and Treecko's Pokéball is the only one that Brendan currently has, you will need to be officially caught by Brendan." He pulled out one Pokéball and what looked like a holster for six Pokéballs. He handed both to Brendan, who graciously accepted them. He attached the holster to his belt and held the extra Pokéball out for Gwen, who slapped the button happily, she went inside and was captured without a fight. Brendan immediately let her out, as he promised her earlier when they made their "pact" yesterday.

That was when they made it to Professor Birch's laboratory. When the professor got to the door he held his hand out to Brendan. "Thank you once again for your help," he said.

"No problem," Brendan said, shaking the professor's hand.

Professor Birch then seemed to get a great idea. "You know, I think you should go meet with May out on route 103, just north of here through Oldale Town. She's been helping me out with research and she got her first Pokémon a few days ago. You two would make great training partners since you're the same age and are about the same in experience level."

"Sure, no problem," Brendan said without hesitation. He was hoping to see May more often, and he could practice battling trainers.

"Just be ready for a tough battle. May is pretty strong for how long she's had her Pokémon," Professor Birch said.

"Thanks, see you around Professor," Brendan said as he ran out to Route 101.

About half an hour later, Brendan had made it to Oldale Town, which was about the same size as Littleroot Town, but it had both a red-roofed Pokémon Center and a blue-roofed PokéMart. As he walked into town, he saw a man in an orange apron walking toward him.

"Hello sir, do you mind if I take a moment of your time?" the man said.

"I'm not in any rush, so sure," Brendan said.

"I am an employee of that PokéMart over there," he explained as he held out a spray bottle. "On behalf of the PokéMart company, please take this free Potion, and remember to come to us for all your needs while you travel."

"Thank you, I will," Brendan said placing the potion into his pocket as he ran off through town.

 _Hey, what is that guy doing over there?_ Gwen said, pointing toward a man scribbling in a notebook while he was crouched close to the ground of a path that led west. Brendan walked over to the man and noticed that he was making a sketch.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" Brendan said.

"STOP! Watch your step. I just discovered footprints of a rare Pokémon, so I'm drawing a sketch," he said, blocking the path.

Brendan looked at the ground in front of the man, noticing that the footprints had tread patterns from a boot, and the man just so happened to be wearing boots with that same pattern as was in the prints. "A-alright. Uhh, you have fun with that," he said. Brendan and Gwen waited until they were out of ear shot before they burst out laughing.

 _That man is an idiot!_ Gwen said.

"I know. How does he not realize they're his footprints?" Brendan said through laughs. When they both stopped laughing, Brendan and Gwen continued moving north toward the sign for route 103.

Soon, they were walking on Route 103. From where they stood, it offered a gorgeous view of a massive volcanic mountain in the distance. Closer to them was a small pond covered in greenery. Standing in front of that pond was May, who was kneeling on the ground with a notebook, writing something.

"Hey, May!" Brendan called out, catching the girl's attention as he approached. May, however seemed oblivious. When Brendan got closer, he noticed that she had earbuds in, and she was talking to herself as she wrote.

"The Pokémon found on route 103 include…" she said. Brendan tapped her on her shoulder as she said that, causing her to jump almost a mile into the air, pulling out her earbuds and turning around to Brendan. "Holy Arceus, don't do that to me Brendan!" she shouted, hitting Brendan lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey, I called to you. Your music must have been too loud," Brendan said in a joking tone.

When May finally calmed down, she smiled at Gwen. "And how have you been?" she asked.

 _I've been great, Brendan officially caught me and he got a Treecko from Professor Birch!_

"Oh did he?" May said with an intrigued tone. "Let me guess, Dad suggested that you come have a battle with me to get us both started."

"That's right," Brendan said as he grabbed Treecko's Pokéball from his belt. "So, what do you say? Are you up for it?"

"You bet I am!" May said with enthusiasm as she grabbed a single Pokéball from her own belt.

"Go Clint!" Brendan called out, releasing his Treecko.

"Go, Miranda!" May called out. The Pokémon that came out of the ball was a short, orange chick.

"So, that's a Torchic?" Brendan asked, using logic to figure it out.

"Yep, the fire-type starter of the Hoenn region," May said confidently.

 _Hey, Brendan, I wanted to battle!_ Gwen said.

"Sorry Gwen, but this is going to be a battle between Pokémon we got from Professor Birch," Brendan said. While Gwen was still a bit peeved, she understood.

"Alright, let's begin!" May said. 

**And that's it for now! I hope you enjoyed that chapter, because I had a lot of fun writing it. The battle will take place next chapter, as well as other events. Please review honestly (just be polite about it).**

 **I'm also not sorry, nor will I ever be, for what I said about Twilight. It is a sickening example of literature that never should have been published.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I will see you all later.**


	3. Arrival in Petalburg

**Welcome to the next chapter of** _ **Brendan's Journey.**_ **Now, before we get started, I want to thank those of you who have reviewed this story. Your support and critiques will help make this story even better.**

 **I would like to let you know that this story is not going to be** **purely** **ORAS. I have decided to sprinkle in a few elements from Emerald, such as the clash between Kyogre and Groudon (Primal forms of both), the Battle Frontier, and others.**

 **Having said that, I would like to address an aspect of the story that I am sure will raise at least one question in the future: Why did you choose to have Brendan start with a Ralts, and why is its name Gwen?**

 **The answer to that is pretty sentimental, to be honest. It started when I first played Pokémon Emerald, which was the first Pokémon game I played and actually knew what I was doing (for RBY and GSC, I was too young to really know what was going on). The first Pokémon I ever caught during my first play-through of Emerald was a Ralts, who I decided to nickname Gwen. She quickly grew to be my best, and favorite, Pokémon. To this day, she is still with me, and she is my Mega-Evolution on Alpha-Sapphire. And on any game where I couldn't bring Gwen with me, I always had a Gardevoir when it was available (Colosseum is the exception). So, Gardevoir (Gwen in particular) holds a special place in my heart. For this story, I am making Gwen very sassy, but caring as well; that's just how I think Gwen would behave.**

 **So, without further ado, here is the next chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _The Arrival in Petalburg_

"Miranda, use Ember!" May called out to start the match. Torchic shot out a stream of sparks at Treecko.

"Dodge that Clint, and then use Pound!" Brendan said. Treecko leapt into the air, moving away from the incoming attack. That was when he fell toward Torchic, spinning as he hit the fire-type with his tail, sending Miranda stumbling back.

"Don't let him get away with that, use Scratch!" May called out. Miranda ran at Clint, and just as she got within a few inches of the grass-type, she leapt a short distance vertically and scratched Clint across the face with her talons.

"Clint, use Leer!" Brendan said. Clint began to glare at Miranda, causing the fire chick to cower away in fear. "Now use another Pound!" Clint sprinted at Miranda once again, leaping into the air and swung his tail around. He hit Miranda across the face with it, sending her sprawling once more.

 _Keep going Clint, you can win this!_ Gwen cheered, raising her fist as she cheered for her friend.

"Miranda, use Ember once more, I know you can do it!" May called out. Miranda stood up, shaking off the dust from her previous fall, and unleashed a stream of sparks toward Treecko once more. This time, however, Treecko could not dodge in time, and he was overwhelmed with the small flames. Luckily, Treecko was a sturdy Pokémon. He managed to struggle to his feet after the attack was over.

"Alright, this last attack will probably decide this. So, Clint, use Quick Attack!" Brendan called out. Clint then sprinted at Miranda, a streak of white light extending behind the Pokémon as he ran.

"Fight back with Ember!" May said. Miranda let loose another stream of fire toward Clint. This time, however, Clint had time to dodge, and he did so with grace. He leapt over the flames acrobatically, doing a mid-air flip without trouble, before continuing on and hitting Miranda with a lariat. The collision sent Miranda tumbling back, but this time, she stayed down. Clint was on one knee, but he was still standing strong nonetheless. May sighed as she knelt down and picked up Miranda. "Hey, you fought really well. I'm proud of you. Now, get some rest," May said as she had Miranda return to her Pokéball.

"Clint! That was a great battle. You won with a disadvantage. I can tell that you and I will be going far together," Brendan said as he gave the little gecko a high five. "Now, you should get some rest as well." With that, Brendan recalled Clint to his Pokéball and walked over to May, extending his hand to her.

"Well Brendan, you are impressive to say the least. If I didn't know better, I'd say you could be the protagonist of a video game," May said as she grabbed Brendan's hand

"Thanks May," Brendan said as he helped her to her feet. "You were pretty strong too."

"Well, I have been training for about a day now," she said. "I guess you do have Norman's knack for battling in you after all." Brendan just laughed at what was said. "Anyway, we should probably head back to Littleroot Town," May said.

"Of course, lead the way," Brendan said. May smiled and began to walk.

 _Hey May, mind if I rode on your shoulders on the way back? Brendan's are getting a bit dull_ Gwen said, which earned a laugh from May.

"Of course you can," May said. "You and I are friends after all, aren't we?"

 _Yes we are!_ Gwen replied as she teleported the short distance to May's shoulder. Brendan just chuckled at the display.

At this point, they had just returned to Oldale Town, and Brendan could see the man in the distance, still sketching his own footprints. "What's that man doing?" May asked.

Brendan and Gwen just laughed lightly. _He's drawing his own boot prints because he thinks they are from a rare Pokémon._ Gwen explained.

"Really?" May asked.

"Yeah, Gwen's not exaggerating in the slightest," Brendan said. They passed by the Pokémon Center, and continued on their way toward home.

May just laughed about what the man was doing, but tried to keep it in check so as to not get strange looks. They continued to pass the time with small talk as they walked through Route 101, using the ledges to avoid the grass before arriving in Littleroot Town. The sun was setting by this point and night had almost fallen.

"Hey, before we head home, we should stop by Dad's lab. He will love to hear about the battle," May said.

"Sure, let's go. My mom won't be too worried about me in the meantime. She was expecting me to be out late anyway," Brendan said with a smile.

Five minutes later, Brendan and May were entering Professor Birch's laboratory, which was Brendan's first time inside. It was mostly white with pristine cleanliness. There was some clutter of research materials, but nothing too major. At a computer in the back was Professor Birch himself.

"Hey Dad, Brendan and I are back from Route 103!" May called out, getting her father's attention immediately.

"Well, it's nice to see both of you back here safely. So, how'd the battle go?" the professor asked.

"Brendan won by a hair," May said, some frustration clearly in her voice.

"I see, so Brendan has Norman's genes in him after all," Birch said.

Brendan just chuckled about that. Arceus above, while he loved Norman, Brendan wanted to get out of his shadow. It was fun at first to be known as Norman's son, but he was ready to make a name for himself. "True, but it was also your Treecko who helped me out," he said, trying to be modest.

The professor noticed that, but he decided to let it slide. "Well, I think you two are ready now. I have something here for both of you," he said. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out two orange devices with a screen in the center and a circular control pad on the left side. To Brendan, it looked a lot like a Gameboy Advanced. "These are the most recent version of the Pokédex. They will serve as your ID, and your source of information on all the Pokémon you encounter," the Professor said with pride.

Brendan had heard about this type of gimmick being pulled by the world famous Professor Oak on Red and, his own grandson, Blue. The gimmick was that Professor Oak gave those two trainers one Pokédex each, but they were both empty. So the lazy professor stuck them with the task of filling it for him. So, to be on the safe side, Brendan had to ask.

"Those actually have the data already in them, right?" he asked.

"Of course they do," Birch said. "No professor in their right mind would give new trainers an empty Pokédex. The trainers are supposed to be raising the Pokémon as they see fit, not concerning themselves with catching so many Pokémon that the PC systems explode."

Brendan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus, I am so happy to hear that." This earned a bout of laughter from everybody in the room.

"Anyway, here are four Pokéballs for you, Brendan," the Professor said as he pulled out a bundle of four Pokéballs from a separate drawer in his desk, then a separate bundle of five. "And here are five for May."

"Thank you Professor," Brendan said.

"Yeah thanks Dad," May said as well.

"Now, since it's late, why don't you two head home and prepare for your journeys to begin tomorrow," the professor said. Neither teenager needed to be told twice.

As they walked to their houses, Brendan got an idea. "Hey May," he said.

"What's up?" she responded, slightly intrigued.

"Since we are both starting our journeys tomorrow, would you want to travel together with me?" Brendan asked, a slight blush forming on his face, and he was so glad that it was too dark for May to see it.

May seemed to think about it for a while. As they got to where they were supposed to separate to go to their own houses, May did something completely unexpected: she gave Brendan a light kiss on the cheek. "I will see you at the start of Route 101 at 10:00 am. Don't be late," she said. With that, she left and ran to her own house.

Brendan was stunned momentarily, until Gwen waved her arm in front of his face. _You awake in there?_ She asked.

Brendan shook himself out of his daze. "Yeah, I am. Now, come on, let's get some sleep before tomorrow."

Sure enough, at 9:50 am, Brendan was on his way out of the house, Gwen riding on his shoulder comfortably. Just before he opened the door of the house, he heard Caroline come up behind him.

"Hey Brendan, I want to give you something for your journey," she said. Brendan turned around and saw that his mother had a small amulet on a chain in her hand. He recognized it as the necklace she usually wore while they lived in Johto. "This was your grandfather's," she said as she passed it to Brendan. "He gave it to me on the day I started as a trainer, and although I didn't make it very far, I know he would want you to have it now. I hope it brings you luck."

Brendan hugged his mother tightly. "Thank you, Mom. I promise I will make both you and Dad proud," he said before letting go and leaving the house.

Caroline smiled softly. "Brendan, you've already made both of us proud. Just do your best," she said before going to make herself a cup of tea.

May checked her watch as she stood near Route 101. It was 9:55, almost time for Brendan to meet her for their journey. She had Miranda's Pokéball on her waist and her PokeNav as well. She also had a couple Potions in her fanny pack for safety's sake. May knew it wasn't going to be long before she and Brendan spent nearly every hour of the day together.

 _May, we're here!_ Gwen called out.

May just grinned as she turned around. "Hey Brendan! Hi Gwen!" she said with a wave.

"Hey, how are you doing today?" Brendan asked politely.

"I'm excited, how else would I be feeling?" May giggled.

"Nervous, maybe?" Brendan said with a wink.

"Don't get smart Goldenrod!" May said, using a new nickname for him.

"Goldenrod? Really?" Brendan said.

 _I like that nickname, I may use that more often!_ Gwen said, laughing to herself.

"Alright, let's not make that nickname a permanent thing," Brendan said.

"Fine," May said.

 _I promise nothing!_ Gwen said.

"Damn it," Brendan said, giving up on that conversation. "Well, let's get moving. I think we should go to Petalburg City first, what do you think?"

"Actually, we have to go there for my first contest," May said.

"Sounds good, just remember to practice your routine as much as possible before we get there," Brendan said as they began to depart from Littleroot.

"I've actually been practicing since I got Torchic," May said. "I still need to find the rest of my team in case of double contests."

"Well, what about a Bug-type Pokémon?" Brendan said.

 _Yeah a Beautifly or Dustox would do great!_ Gwen said. _They both have some beautiful attacks._

"Then I guess I need a Wurmple," May said. They were about halfway to Oldale Town when she said this. Then, as if the events were being written in a half-ass manner by an amateur author, a Wurmple crawled out in front of their path.

"Wow, that was really convenient," Brendan said.

"Yeah, but you know what, I don't care," May said. "I'm going to catch it right now. Pokéball go!" She threw the Pokéball at the worm Pokémon, which was captured almost too easily, without the ball shaking more than once. May ran and picked up the Pokéball and raised it in triumph. "YAY! I just captured my first Pokémon!" she called out.

"Nice job May, why don't you let that Pokémon out of its Pokéball so we could introduce ourselves," Brendan said, but May was one step ahead of him as she released the confused Pokémon.

"Hi Wurmple, I'm May, your new trainer!" she said with a warming smile. Gwen then leapt down from Brendan's shoulder as Wurmple spoke in the Pokémon language.

Gwen nodded knowingly, then began to translate. _This is Lily. She actually wanted to be captured. Strange coincidence, isn't it?_

"Well I am glad to meet you Lily. I'm glad you wanted to be with a trainer, but what about a coordinator?" May said as she pet the bug-type, who cooed and rubbed up against her hand.

 _Lily says that she would love to be on a coordinator's team. She really just wants to make as many friends as she can._ Gwen translated.

Brendan then knelt next to May and the two Pokémon. "Well, Lily, I'm glad to meet you as well. I'm Brendan!" he said.

 _And I'm Gwen!_ she said with enthusiasm.

Lily seemed to relax more with that, until two Pokémon let themselves out of their Pokéballs. Those two were Clint and Miranda, who simply began to speak to Lily excitedly. May was concerned that Lily would be scared by the sudden flux of new faces, but there seemed to be nothing to be concerned about. Lily was conversing with Clint, Miranda, and Gwen as if they were old friends.

"Well May, are you ready to continue?" Brendan asked as he stood back up.

"Yeah, Lily and Miranda, return!" she said as she stood up.

"You too Clint!" Brendan said. With that, all of the Pokémon except Gwen were back in their Pokéballs. Gwen then returned to Brendan's shoulder, and the trio continued to walk to Oldale.

About an hour later, Brendan and May were walking toward the western exit of Oldale Town, where they saw a familiar man. This time, he wasn't sketching anything. Instead, he looked to be crying. The two young Pokémon trainers walked towards him and were about to stop and ask when they heard him whimpering something that sounded like "I am so stupid. How did I not realize they were my prints?" Brendan just shook his head and May stifled a giggle as they walked by without trouble this time. Within minutes, after passing a small pond with some tall grass next to it, both of them burst out laughing and clutching their stomachs. While neither of them normally laughed at others, this was a special case.

About an hour and ten battles (five for each of them) later, they had arrived in Petalburg City. "Alright, let's go get a room at the Pokémon Center. After that, I kind of want to go shopping for a little while," May said.

"Sounds good, but after we get that room, I think I will go and see my dad at the Gym," Brendan said.

"I think that's a great idea," May said. "But let's get the room and some food."

"Sure thing," Brendan said as his stomach growled quietly. Gwen giggled on his shoulder as they entered the red-roofed building and approached the counter, where Brendan rang the bell on the desk.

"Welcome, how may I help you?" the nurse behind the counter asked.

"Could we get a room for two?" Brendan asked.

"Of course," she said, but she got a curious expression on her face as she looked at Brendan.

 _Does she know you?_ Gwen said. When nobody reacted except himself, Brendan realized that Gwen was only talking to him.

 _I don't know, really_ Brendan thought back.

"By the way, young man, you look familiar. I know I have never met you before, but I can't lose the feeling that I know you," the nurse said.

 _She couldn't have made the connection already,_ Brendan thought, which Gwen picked up on.

 _Well don't just stand there, respond_ , Gwen said back.

"Well, I do look more like my father than my mother, I guess you've met him before," Brendan said.

"Hmmm," the nurse said momentarily as she produced a room key and handed it to May. "I know I've seen those facial features before, but I'm not entirely sure who had them."

"Need a hint?" Brendan asked playfully.

"Augh, fine," the nurse said. She was clearly unhappy that she couldn't figure it out without help.

"My father just recently came here from Goldenrod City," Brendan said.

"Norman?" the nurse said with a gasp. "You're Norman's son?" She said that last part a bit too loudly, causing the entirety of the population in the Pokémon Center lobby to turn and look at Brendan and begin whispering.

"Yeah, I'm Norman's son," Brendan said.

"Well, your father is an absolutely brilliant gym leader. Not too many trainers can use Normal Types so effectively," the nurse said. "And the fact he was called here from the Johto region just speaks volumes about how strong he is."

Brendan chuckled slightly. "Well I will pass on that information when I get the chance," he said. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem at all," the nurse said. "Have a great day, and I hope you and your Pokémon stay healthy."

Brendan turned to May, "Well that was nice of her to say," he said.

"Well what do you expect her to say? She works at a hospital. Would you rather she said something like 'we hope to see you again'?"

"I suppose you're right. But can you imagine if nurses actually said that?" Brendan said with a laugh. "That would be a horrible thing to say in a Pokémon Center."

"True, but that's why they don't say it," May said. When she said that, they reached their room, which May unlocked, and they saw that it was small, but it was practical. It looked exactly like a hotel room with two beds and a night stand between the two of them.

 _Yay! I want a bed for myself!_ Gwen said.

"Gwen, come on, May and I aren't going to be sharing a bed. You know that," Brendan said.

Gwen puffed out her right cheek slightly and began to pout a bit. _Fine. Then I will sleep in May's bed if she is okay with that_.

"I'm okay with that, but it's only two in the afternoon," May said, going slightly red with embarrassment at Gwen's initial suggestion. "Anyway, I will see you two later tonight. Have fun meeting Norman!"

"Yep, see you later!" Brendan said.

Brendan had his hands in his pockets as he walked toward the Petalburg Gym. It was in the northernmost part of the city next to a large pond. It had really nice scenery, but Brendan was not actually paying too close to the landscape. He was looking at the gym building itself. It was completely different from those Gyms of Johto. The roof was orange and the structure underneath was silver metal. The door looked like polished steel, and they opened automatically.

"Ready to meet my dad?" Brendan asked Gwen.

 _Yep_ , she said back. _I'm really excited._

"Then let's go," Brendan said. He approached the door, which opened for him immediately.

"Welcome to the Petalburg Gym!" came a very familiar voice. It came from the back of the building, where Brendan saw his father sitting cross-legged with his back to the door.

"I know, your name is Norman, and you use Normal types," Brendan said with a joke as he walked farther into the gym, causing Norman to whip around with a startled expression. That faded when he saw that it was Brendan.

"Brendan, I didn't expect to see you here so soon. How have you and your mom been?" Norman said as he crossed the battlefield, which looked like a martial arts dojo's floor.

"We're both great, Mom and Sylveon are adjusting well, and I've started my journey with May Birch," Brendan said with a smile.

"That's great to hear," Norman said with pride in his voice. Before he went any farther, a certain someone made their presence fully known.

 _Hi Mr. Norman, I'm Gwen! I'm Brendan's friend and Pokémon._ Gwen said, almost too loudly due to her excitement.

Norman laughed slightly when he noticed Gwen on Brendan's shoulder. "Well, I'm certainly glad to meet you, Gwen. I'm sure you've kept my son safe," he said.

 _Oh absolutely. Heck, if I wasn't there, he'd be hopeless,_ she said.

Norman laughed louder this time. It seemed Gwen's relationship with Brendan was a mixture between friendship, that of a Pokémon and trainer, and of siblings. "Well that's good to hear. I'm glad that the two of you are getting along so well," he said. "So, am I correct to assume that you are still going to try to become a Champion?" Norman said.

"Absolutely," Brendan said with a fire in his eyes.

"Well then, in that case, allow me to-" Norman said, but he was cut off when the Gym doors opened and a scrawny, almost sickly boy who looked to be slightly younger than Brendan entered.

"H-hello, Mr. Maple, sir?" the boy said.

"Hmm. Oh, yes, of course, you're Wally, right?" Norman said to the newcomer.

"Y-yes. I-I am," he said. "I'm going to be leaving to live with my aunt and uncle shortly, but I want to catch a Pokémon before I leave so I have a companion." Brendan smiled slightly, just by looking at Wally, Brendan could see that the boy had the potential to be a strong trainer. He just lacked the needed confidence.

"Well, I can loan you a Pokémon to help with that, but I expect it back once you've caught your Pokémon," Norman said, handing Wally a Pokéball. "This is my Zigzagoon, which I just recently caught. You should have no trouble catching a Pokémon with his help."

"Th-Thank you sir," Wally said as he took the Pokéball and turned to leave. Brendan stopped him.

"Hey, Wally," he said. "Would you mind if I came with you to help you out?" Wally's eyes brightened when Brendan said that.

"I-If you want to come, I would love to have an experienced trainer help me out," Wally said. "Let's head to Route 102 to find a Pokémon."

 _Oh, that's a great idea. I lived on Route 102 for a while, and there are other Ralts living there,_ Gwen said.

"Wow, thanks!" Wally said. "I think that a Ralts will be the Pokémon I catch."

"That's a good goal," Brendan said. "Gwen has only been with me for a few days, and all the battles she's been in were decisively hers."

Wally smiled, slightly at this, but then the two fell into small talk until they arrived at Route 102. That was when they approached some tall grass.

"Okay Wally, I will be right here if you need help. Go on into the grass and find your Pokémon," Brendan said.

"I-I will do my best," Wally said as he entered the grass. When Wally was five steps in, there was a white robed, green haired Pokémon who appeared before the boy.

 _There's Wally's Ralts. Now, let's see if Wally can catch him,_ Gwen said.

"Alright Wally, now's the time to battle it and then catch it," Brendan said.

"Got it," Wally said as he threw the Pokéball Norman gave him. "Zigzagoon, I need your help!" Wally's first test as a trainer had begun.


	4. A Rivalry is Born

_A Rivalry is Born_

"Zigzagoon, u-use t-tackle!" Wally said in a timid voice. The raccoon Pokémon sprinted at the Ralts, slamming into the Pokémon head-on.

That was when Brendan heard Gwen giggling on his shoulder. "Gwen, what's so funny?" Brendan asked with a whisper so he didn't distract Wally.

 _I know him,_ Gwen said. _We were kind of like you and May, but he wasn't nice._

"What do you mean?"

 _Well, he used to antagonize me when we were younger. His name is Samuel, but he likes to be called Sam. He would often chase me through the grass, throwing little rocks at me a lot. It's funny to see him get some karma._

"You know he may be captured by Wally," Brendan said as Wally called for another Tackle attack, which Zigzagoon executed after Sam used Growl to weaken the incoming attack. Zigzagoon landed the hit effectively.

 _Yeah, but maybe that will set him straight. Especially after all the mean things he did to me._

"Alright, return Zigzagoon!" Wally said as he recalled the Pokémon. "Y-you throw a Pokéball, right?"

"Yes," Brendan said. "Do it now before that Pokémon leaves!"

"A-alright," Wally said as he took out an empty Pokéball and threw it at Sam. The ball hit Sam on the head and took him inside. It shook three times before lighting up, indicating a capture. Wally stood there for a second, seemingly unable to understand what happened.

"Congrats Wally," Brendan said, hoping to snap him back to his senses. "You've caught your first Pokémon."

That was when Wally walked over to the Pokéball, almost showing excitement. Brendan was underwhelmed by the reaction, but given how Wally usually behaved, that was likely to be expected. "I caught a Ralts!" Wally said with a tone of disbelief.

"Yeah, Gwen told me that your Ralts is named Samuel, and that they knew each other." Brendan explained.

"In that case, let's have a reunion," Wally said. Before Brendan could object, Samuel had materialized, and Gwen was already glaring at him.

Gwen leapt down to the ground and slapped Sam across the face before leaping back onto Brendan's shoulder. _THAT WAS FOR ALL THE TIMES YOU CHASED ME AND THREW ROCKS AT ME!_ Gwen said with clear anger.

There passed a moment of silence before Gwen spoke again. _I don't care if you've changed, you were still a massive jerk to me!_

Sam gave Gwen a slightly annoyed look, then he took on a more competitive appearance.

 _Fine, you want to become the strongest Gallade in the world, and I want to become the strongest Gardevoir. I can accept being your rival, but just realize that Brendan and I will be the greatest team ever. You and Wally don't have a chance. No offense to you, Wally._

Brendan was in shock. He had no idea that Gwen could reach this level of anger or that she could be so competitive. He liked that side of his companion. "Well I think that we also have a rivalry now, don't we Wally," he said with a laugh.

Wally kind of shrunk back. "I-I don't really know. I'll think about it," he said. "Why don't we go back to Norman's gym?"

"Sure, I think my dad will be expecting us back soon," Brendan said.

"Your dad? Who is that?" Wally asked.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I forgot to formally introduce myself. I'm Brendan Maple."

"Maple, like the new Gym Leader?" Wally said.

"Yes, exactly," Brendan said with a grin.

"You're related to Norman. Why did you not say so sooner?"

"Wasn't it obvious?"

"I actually thought you had just battled Norman for a gym badge and you wanted to help me afterword."

"Nope, I just started my journey this morning," Brendan said with a laugh.

 _Yeah, I'm actually pretty low-leveled right now, to be completely honest_ , Gwen said.

"Wow, so we're at the same level?" Wally said, starting to get a little more confident, which surprised Brendan. "I mean, we both have a Ralts, a-and we're both just starting out."

"So, what do you say? Are we rivals?" Brendan said as he extended his hand.

Wally hesitated for a moment before shaking hands with Brendan. "Of course, and may the better trainer win," he said.

 _Brendan will!_ Gwen said with a taunting tone.

Before Wally or Brendan could say anything, Brendan heard somebody calling his name, and the voice was very familiar. When Brendan turned to see who it was, he saw none other than Professor Birch. "Brendan, I'm glad I caught up to you," he said.

"Hey Professor, what's going on?" Brendan said.

"Well, I decided that somebody should take this Mudkip with them," he said as he pulled out the third Pokéball. "It wouldn't be good for him to be separated from other Pokémon. Would you mind taking him with you?"

"Actually, I think that Mudkip would be better off in Wally's hands," Brendan said, placing a hand on Wally's shoulder.

"Wait, really?" Wally asked, slightly shocked.

"Yeah, why not?" Brendan asked. "I already have a Treecko, and my friend May has a Torchic, so you should be the one to raise Mudkip."

"Then I won't refuse the offer," Wally said, and then Professor Birch handed Wally Mudkip's Pokéball.

"Take care of Mudkip," Birch said. "And, since you're beginning your journey, you may have this Pokédex and these five Pokéballs." Wally took the Pokédex, which was a blue version of what Brendan and May received. "Now, good luck to both of you." Professor Birch left after this, so Brendan and Wally walked back into town.

"By the way, don't you want to meet your Mudkip?" Brendan asked.

"I-I guess so," Wally said as he opened his newest occupied Pokéball. "Let's go Mudkip!" With a flash of light, a four-legged mudfish appeared, giving slight cry.

Gwen then floated to the ground and closely examined the Pokémon. Suddenly, she began to talk with excitement. _Hiya! I'm Gwen, what's your name?_ She paused for a while as Mudkip spoke in Pokémon language. _So, your name is Paul. I guess you are going to be facing Clint and me later on._

"True, but you never know how strong we will become," Wally said. "We may do better than you do."

"We will see about that, won't we?" Brendan said. Wally recalled Paul and they continued back to the Petalburg Gym. It took about five minutes to get there. They entered the gym only to run into a frustrated trainer with green-grey colored hair leaving the gym, muttering something about how the gym leader must have cheated to win so decisively. Brendan just remained silent as they passed that trainer and moved toward Norman, who was just recalling his Pokémon, but Brendan missed what it was, and he wouldn't even be able to venture a guess about what it was since Norman never told Brendan what was on his team.

"Well, it's good to see you two made it back. How did everything go?" Norman said.

"I caught a Ralts and Professor Birch gave me a Mudkip," Wally said, handing back Zigzagoon's Pokéball, which Norman gladly accepted.

"I see, so you have two Pokémon already. Well, congratulations and good luck to you in Verdanturf," Norman said.

"Thank you Mr. Maple, it was nice meeting you Brendan!" Wally said as he left the building.

"That boy seemed more confident than before you two left," Norman said. "It seems that you helped him out with more than just catching a Pokémon."

"Yeah, but he still has a ways to go," Brendan said.

"Well, you're in a similar position, since you both started out today," Norman said. "Anyway, before Wally came in the first time, I was going to say that you should head to Rustboro City to challenge Roxanne for her badge. Then travel to the other gyms to continue to become stronger."

"Wait, so that means I will be battling you eventually?" Brendan said, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yes, but I will only let you challenge me when you have four badges at least," Norman said.

Brendan nodded. "I think I can get four badges easily enough," he said. "Just promise you won't hold back."

"If I did, then I would have no right to call myself a Gym Leader," Norman said with a serious expression.

"Well, it was great to see you again, Dad. I need to meet up with May and get back to the Pokémon Center," Brendan said.

"Alright, but let me give you some words of wisdom before you go," Norman said. "Don't be afraid to take risks on your journey; just be smart about what those risks are. And be sure to remember that there may come a time when your beliefs and ideals are tested more fiercely than you ever thought possible. It's at those times that it becomes clear what kind of man you truly are."

Brendan smiled. "Thank you, Dad. I will keep that in mind," he said as he left.

May was having a fun time at the Petalburg mall, having found three beautiful dresses for the contest, and she had even had time to battle in the conveniently placed battle arena a few times. One of those battles, which was against a woman with a Shroomish, resulted in her Wurmple evolving into a Silcoon. May couldn't be happier with how the day was going.

Unfortunately, she had to get back to the Pokémon Center, since the final calls for shoppers to leave the mall were sounding. So, she left the building with her bags in hand. Ten minutes later, she was in the room at the Pokémon Center, laying on her bed to relax.

Apparently she relaxed really well, because she was soon in the world of her dreams. What she saw there was a bit strange. Her dream was very realistic, but it was a world where she was in Brendan's family, except Brendan wasn't there. She lived in Petalburg with her family, consisting of Norman, Caroline, and an annoying, know-it-all little brother who seemed to be named Max. She dreamed that she was on her way to meet with Professor Birch for her first Pokémon. For some reason, she was terrified of Pokémon. Eventually, she met a boy with a Pikachu who fried her bike in a fit of unstable electricity. After that, she chose a Torchic and began her journey with that same trainer. That was when she heard a distant voice calling her name. It kept getting louder until May woke up to see Brendan and Gwen standing beside her, looking slightly concerned.

"Is everything okay? You were talking in your sleep. You sounded like you were kind of annoyed about something," Brendan said.

 _I think you were having a weird dream, want to talk about it?_ Gwen said.

"Y-yeah, thank you for waking me up. I have no clue what was going on in my head," May said before describing the dream as best she could. When she finished her recounting, Brendan was unsure how to react.

"Well, to be honest, it sounds like it was just a dream," Brendan said. "I wouldn't let it bug you too much."

"Yeah, I suppose. I mean, could you imagine how bad that life would be? It was almost like awful writers were in charge of my every move," May said with a slight laugh as she looked at the clock, and saw that it was almost midnight, and she was still quite tired. "Anyway, I am going to actually clean off before bed."

"Alright, Gwen and I will be watching TV," Brendan said as he grabbed the remote and flipped the set on to PokeVision, the popular show from Kalos that showcased Pokémon and their trainers.

May went into the bathroom with the door locked, disrobed, and turned on the shower. All the while, Brendan and Gwen were struggling to stay awake as the comfortable bed and the droning of the TV worked in a combined effort to lull them deeper into sleep.

Within a few minutes, May left the bathroom, her hair damp, and she was wearing a Chandelures concert t-shirt, with very short shorts. Brendan, however, was so far-gone that he didn't even notice the sight before him. May just laughed to herself. It was probably Brendan's dream to see her wearing this type of outfit, yet here he was, sleeping through it. Oh well, he'd have to see it in the morning.

The next day, Brendan woke up to find Gwen sleeping soundly on his chest, and she looked to be at peace. So, Brendan had no choice but to stay put until Gwen woke up. While he waited, he got a little bored, so he looked around the room. His gaze eventually wandered over to where May slept. He was a bit surprised to see that she was on top of the blankets, but he was even more intrigued by what she was wearing. She had on a t-shirt from a Chandelures concert, which happened to be one of Brendan's favorite bands, and a pair of lightly colored cotton shorts. What Brendan now wanted to know was how May looked so beautiful, even while sleeping. Most women would kill to look that good, and she pulled it off naturally.

 _Looking at something?_ Brendan heard, which made him jump in shock before looking down at his little, green-haired companion, who wore a knowing expression.

"I might be," Brendan said. "What of it?"

 _It's not a big deal. I'm curious about something, though. If you think she's pretty, why don't you tell her?_

"I think it's a bit early for me to say something like that, don't you?" Brendan said.

 _I just know that all women love to be told that they're beautiful, just don't be creepy about it_

"I guess, but still, I think I will wait for a little bit. I mean, we only just met two days ago," he said.

"Are you two talking about me?" May said groggily as she sat up.

 _Yeah, I think Brendan has something he wants to say to you!_ Gwen said. Brendan glared at her, starting to see how their new relationship would function.

"Oh? And what exactly did you want to say?" May said, picking up on Brendan's discomfort.

"Uhm.. Yeah, I wanted to say something," Brendan said, suddenly finding the floor patterns on the floor incredibly interesting.

"Go on," May said, still clearly enjoying this.

"I think you look beautiful," he said, developing a blush deeper than should be humanly possible.

May smiled, but didn't give more indication of how she felt other than that. Gwen, however, could detect exactly what her response was. Her heart rate was accelerating, and she was clearly happier than mere seconds ago. "Well, thank you," she said. "I'm going to go clean off before we get started on training for the contest."

"Alright," Brendan said, still not really looking up. May just laughed as she went into the bathroom and began to prepare for the day.

"Well," May said under her breath. "I can say that you are pretty handsome yourself."

 **Sorry that took so long for a short chapter, but I on vacation for a few weeks, and I forgot my laptop. Thanks for being patient with me.**

 **Anyway, as always, reviews are welcomed, just be polite about it. Next time, it will be May's first contest.**


	5. May Takes the Stage: Part 1

_May Takes the Stage Part 1_

Three days have passed for Brendan and May, and during this time, both young trainers had been battling, with May practicing her routine for the contest. During this time, Gwen was easily the stronger of his Pokémon, but Clint was no slouch either. One thing that Brendan was actually surprised about came when Clint showed that he actually knew how to use Dragonbreath. That would be extremely helpful in future battles, but he still had a while before battling the first gym. There were, however, a good number of other trainers who wanted to battle in their spare time.

This day, however, was the day of the Petalburg Contest, and May was more than ready. Miranda's fire attacks had been polished to look gorgeous and eye-catching. Brendan had given some critique about where she needed to improve her appeals. May had already arrived at the contest hall and registered for the contest. Now she was in the dressing room, wearing one of her new dresses, this one was a royal blue formal sheath with a sleeve on the left side, but the right arm would be showing. She enjoyed the fact that the dress was tight in all the right places, while still appearing elegant due to the flowing skirt. She wore a matching pair of elegant stilettos, with small gold earrings which had shimmering sapphires on the ends. Her make-up was done in such a way that Michelangelo couldn't have made her more beautiful. Her mascara was applied to near perfection, which caused her blue eyes to stand out and shimmer like the ocean on a bright, sunny day, and she had on a dark red lipstick. In short, she looked amazing.

She had thoroughly prepared for this contest, but there was still one thing missing for her. She couldn't find her confidence. All that she felt was nervousness. Miranda, who was sitting on the table next to May, could sense how nervous her trainer was but she could do little to help May calm down, since her nerves were getting the better of her as well. The contest would be starting at 5:00, and it was currently 4:45. May was going to be the second to last appeal, but she wasn't sure how she would keep herself calm when the time came.

Brendan was in the middle of the third row from the stage, with Gwen on his lap, and she was clearly excited to see a contest. This was mostly evident because she was practically talking Brendan's ear off, or would have been if she was able to physically speak.

 _It must be getting close to time for the contest to begin!_ Gwen said for a seventh time since sitting down. Brendan just looked at his PokeNav clock, which read 4:58.

"Well, we have about two minutes before it's supposed to start, so it should be starting any minute now." As if that was the cue, the lights in the auditorium dimmed down and a single spotlight turned on, aiming at the MC, who was wearing a purple, frilled dress. She had golden, blonde hair that was styled similar to Marilyn Monroe and she wore a microphone headset.

"Welcome one and all to the annual Petalburg City Pokémon Contest. My name is Vivian Meridian, and I am your host for the event. Allow me to introduce you to our panel of judges," She said as she pointed at the four podiums set up for the judges., which were empty at the moment. "First is Director of the Contest Committee Mr. Contesta!" As Vivian said that, a panel in the floor opened up and a chair was brought up on a lift behind the far left podium.

"I am looking forward to seeing how all these coordinators show the appeal of their Pokémon," Mr. Contesta said. He wore a red suit with a white rose pinned to his lapel. His hair was mostly dark, but his sideburns were turning grey.

"Next is Head of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo!" This time, the chair was raised to the immediate right of Mr. Contesta

"Thank you Vivian, and I hope this contest proves to be…incredible!" Mr. Sukizo replied. This earned a shocked look from Mr. Contesta, but he said nothing about it.

"Our third judge is the local Nurse Joy!" Vivian said with enthusiasm as the floor behind the third podium.

"I am sure that all these coordinators will show just how close they are with their Pokémon," Nurse Joy said. "That is my favorite part of any Pokémon competition."

"And our last judge is a relatively new face to Petalburg City," Vivian said.

"No way," Brendan said, already knowing who this judge would be.

"He's originally from the Goldenrod City Gym, but now he's become the leader of the Petalburg Gym. Please put your hands together for Norman Maple!" As she said that, Norman was raised to his chair, and he wore a partly stern, partly excited expression.

"It's a pleasure to be here at the Petalburg City Contest, and I would like to thank all of you for welcoming me so openly as your Gym Leader. My expertise may be battling, but believe me when I say that I can fully appreciate when a Pokémon attack is truly beautiful. So, let's see some performances." Norman said. This earned a round of applause from the audience.

"With those great introductions out of the way, let's move on to our first part of the contest: the appeals!" Vivian said. "Our first contestant is a veteran of the contest circuit, and she is sure to catch your eye with her performance. Give it up for none other than Grace!"

Brendan watched the twenty-year old trainer come on stage, and she wore an interesting choice of attire, consisting of a dress that looked to be the color of a pink pearl. She walked with confidence, and she seemed to know what she was doing. "Let's dazzle them Arya!" she called out as she released her first Pokémon, which was a Beautifly. "Use Morning Sun!" At that command, Arya's wings began to glow and shimmer like a rising sun. "Now show them your Electro Web!" she called out.

As she said that command, Arya sprayed what looked like String Shot, but it formed a spider web the hummed with electricity. "Now break it apart with Silver Wind!" Beautifly beat her wings, sending shimmering silver scythes at the web, and when they collided, they both exploded, forming a cloud of multi-colored sparkling lights.

"Excuse me," Brendan heard beside him. He turned to face the source of the voice only to see an eccentrically dressed woman with aqua blue hair that looked like a lightning bolt on top, with a long bang, similar to May's, on her right side, and another bang that looked almost like Vivian's headset. She wore a blue hoodie and khaki pants.

"Yes?" Brendan asked.

"Do you mind if I take this seat," she said, gesturing to the empty seat beside him.

"Not at all," Brendan said.

"Thank you so much," the girl said as she sat down. "My name is Lisia Rain, by the way."

"I'm Brendan, and this is Gwen."

 _Nice to meet you Lisia!_ Gwen said, which caused Lisia's eyes to go wide. _Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you._

"No, it's not a problem. I just wasn't expecting to meet a talking Pokémon," Lisia said. She paused to watch Grace finish her performance. Arya had begun a Gust attack, forming a tornado in the center of the stage.

"Silver Wind!" Grace called. Arya once more sent multiple glittering waves of silver scythes of wind, which fused with the Gust attack, giving the tornado a glittering appearance. "Now Sunny Day!" With that, Beautifly sent an orb of light into the sky, which intensified the strength of the sun's rays. "Finish it with Solarbeam!" Beautifly's wings both glowed brightly before firing a green and yellow beam of energy at the swirling wind. The attacks collided and they burst into brilliant sparkling dust and energy. Gwen looked to be completely entranced by the gorgeous performance.

The judges all wrote their scores and, with forty points being the maximum points a coordinator could score, Grace was rewarded with 39 total points. Vivian congratulated Grace on her performance. Grace recalled Arya and cleared the way for the next coordinator. Brendan was a bit surprised, he was expecting a perfect score from that performance.

"I figured she'd be just shy of a perfect score," Lisia said, and she noticed a curious look from Brendan.

"How could you tell?" Brendan asked.

"Oh, I figured you would have recognized my name," Lisia said.

"Sorry, I'm new to the Hoenn region. I just recently moved to Littleroot Town from the Johto region," Brendan said.

"Oh, I guess that explains it. Well, I don't like to bring it up, but people consider me to be Hoenn's top coordinator," she said.

Brendan got a look of admiration on his face. "So you're practically the expert when it comes to contests."

"In a way," she said. "But now I'm looking for somebody I can be a mentor to."

"I think I know somebody who you could teach. She said she's the second to last performer," Brendan said.

"Oh? Well, I will need to see how she does then," Lisia said.

In the contestant waiting room, May was sitting on a bench with Miranda next to her and she was in awe of what Grace and Arya just did. It was incredible to say the least. Just as she was getting over her amazement, Grace returned to the waiting room, and she received a round of applause from the other coordinators. As she passed by May, she stopped and glanced at her.

"You're somebody I haven't met on the contest circuit before," she said. "My name is Grace Sinatra."

"I'm May Birch," May said. "And this is Miranda," she said gesturing to Torchic.

"So I take it this is your first contest, am I right?" she asked.

"Is it that obvious?" May said.

"When you've been a coordinator as long as I have, you start to be able to pick out the rookies from the crowd," Grace said.

"I guess that's true. Anyway, that was an amazing performance, it must have taken a long time to perfect it," May said.

"If only I had spent a bit more time, that would have been a perfect score," Grace said. "Ah well, it can't be helped now. So, when is your performance?"

"I am the second to last," May said, a bit disappointed.

"I see," Grace said. "Well, here is a quick tip for you. Just relax, think of this like your practice sessions."

"Thank you Grace," May said. "I'll do my best."

"Good, because I want to see you make it to the second stage," she said.

May's eyes went wide with surprise at first, but then she smiled with some confidence. If Grace thought that she had what it took to make it to the second stage, then why did she doubt herself?

Brendan, Gwen, and Lisia enjoyed watching the performances after Grace, but none really seemed to compare, and the scores reflected that, with most falling in the low thirties or lower. In this contest, there were thirty coordinators, and they had already gone through twenty-eight. It was now May's turn.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, for our next coordinator, we have a newcomer to the contest circuit, so please give her a warm welcome. It's May Birch!" Vivian called out. On that cue, May walked out of the tunnel, and Brendan could not believe what he was seeing.

"Well, let's see how she does," Lisia said.

Brendan, however, could only respond with an "Uh huh," as he was awestruck. May didn't just look pretty. No, she had gone far beyond that. She was stunning. Brendan couldn't stop staring at her, no matter how hard he tried…not that he was really trying.

"Gwen, is he okay?" Lisia whispered to the little Pokémon.

 _Yeah, he just has a crush on May that he won't admit to_ , Gwen said back.

"Oh, that explains it," Lisia said with a slight giggle.

May waved to the crowd as she walked toward the center of the stage. She didn't pay too much attention to them, though. She was ready to begin her appeal. She pulled out the Pokéball, and readied herself.

"Miranda, take the stage!" May called out as she let out her Torchic, who chirped as she appeared.

"Alright Miranda, use Ember!" May called out. Miranda began to run in circles. While she ran, she spat out multiple sparks of fire into the air, which began to swirl in a spiral pattern.

"Keep going!" May said. Torchic kept running and spitting fire. Brendan smiled in the crowd. The appeal was going really well based on how she practiced it. The fire was coalescing and beginning to take the form of what looked like the Milky Way Galaxy, only in a fiery orange color.

"Oh my, ladies and gentlemen, this is an astounding sight. I think this is the most breath taking performance we've seen from a newcomer coordinator in a long while," Vivian said.

"I couldn't agree more," Lisia said. "She came up with that on her own?"  
"Mostly, I helped a little in polishing it up, but she was the one who thought of it," Brendan said.

"Well, it seems you were right. She is something else. I think I can help her learn how to refine her skill to the level of a world class coordinator," Lisia said. "She's a natural with a performing."

"Now, use Peck!" May called out. Miranda's beak began to glow as she leapt up directly into the center of the flaming galaxy. She burst out the top, trailed by a stream of flames as the galaxy broke apart. Miranda flipped and landed strongly in the center of the stage where she chirped with joy and pride. May and Miranda both took a bow, and the crowd erupted into cheers. May couldn't believe how much praise she was receiving from her first performance. When Miranda jumped into her arms, the crowd loved it even more, since it earned a couple 'awws' from the crowd.

That was when May looked at the screen showing her score. Her jaw dropped. It was a perfect forty. She then looked over at the judges table, where she got a smile and thumbs up from Norman. She smiled back and gave a bow to the audience before leaving the stage.

"Hey, Lisia, Gwen and I are going to go to the contestant waiting room," Brendan said.

"Mind if I join you? I want to meet with May," Lisia said.

"I don't mind, and I am sure May will want to meet you as well," Brendan said.

 _She will definitely love to meet you_ Gwen said with enthusiasm.

May walked into the tunnel back to the waiting room, only to pass by a younger boy with green hair, holding a rose. He couldn't have been more than twelve years old. "Well, that was impressive," he said. "But just know that you won't win the contest. That ribbon will be mine."

"And who exactly are you?" May said with a slight glare.

"Drew Rosa from LaRousse City," the boy said.

"Well, good luck on your appeals at least," May said.

Drew just scoffed. "As if I need anything as useless as luck," he said as he walked to the field. May just shook her head. She was not going to let a twelve year old bother her.

She got back into the waiting room and saw Grace standing with her arms crossed, her left eyebrow raised, and an amused smirk across her face. "Well, you seem to have made your mark," she said. "That was a beautiful performance!"

"Thank you," May said with a smile. "I couldn't believe that I got that score. I never thought I'd get a perfect score on my first try."

"Well, if that's the case, then you seriously underestimate yourself," a new voice said from behind her.

 _Yeah, that was incredible. You really shouldn't doubt yourself_ , said a very familiar Pokémon voice.

May turned around to see Brendan and Gwen, but there was also a new face she recognized, but only from television. "Holy Arceus, is that Lisia?" Grace called out. May didn't know why she knew that name, but she knew it from somewhere. "Do you have Ali with you?" Grace asked.

"Yes, but he's a bit tired from training and practicing for our performance at the Grand Festival this year that he really needed the rest in his Pokéball," the new girl said.

"Wait, Lisia? As in _the_ Lisia Rain?" May said.

"Yes, that's me," Lisia said.

"Wow, I can't believe this! I am a huge fan of yours," May said.

"Well, I can say that the feeling is mutual now," Lizia said. "That performance was astounding."

Just as she said that, there was a roar from the television screens. "And there we have it, the second perfect score of this contest. Drew Rosa has shown his skill once more with his Roselia. That perfect combination of Stun Spore, Petal Dance, and Magical Leaf was incredible to say the least. I think three of the four who go on to the second stage. Our fourth finalist is going to be Richard Johnson."

May groaned when she heard that Drew had a perfect score.

"What's wrong?" Grace asked.

"That kid was an arrogant brat when he passed me on his way to the stage," May said.

"I'm sorry, was my perfect score not proof that I have every reason to be arrogant, as you call it," said a snobbish voice behind Brendan.

Brendan just turned around, coming face-to-face with Drew. The kid was no more than twelve years old, yet he acted like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, especially with that rose he carried around ridiculously. "So, you're Drew?" Brendan said with a glare.

"Yeah, that's me. Sorry, but I don't do autographs," he said.

"Good, I wasn't asking for one," Brendan said.

"Well then you can get out of my way, loser," Drew said as he tried to walk by Brendan.

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. Care to repeat what you just said?"

"Brendan, don't bother with him," May said. "He's not worth it." Brendan gave Drew one last glare before turning around. That would've been the end of it, but Drew took it too far.

"I should have figured that the weak trainer, who doesn't even know how to control a weak little Ralts, would run from a challenge," Drew said. Nobody expected what happened next, not even Gwen.

In the blink of an eye, Brendan had grabbed Drew by his shirt, lifted him three feet off the ground, and had him pinned against the wall. He then leaned in close to Drew. "Kid, you don't know me, and I don't know you. I don't care if you insult me, but don't you _dare_ call my Pokémon weak. Do you understand me?"

The look of fear in Drew's eyes was enough for Brendan. "Next time, don't be a prick to people who you don't know," he said as he released Drew, who made his way to a bench in the waiting room.

He turned to face May, Grace, and Lisia, only to be surprised that they looked impressed by what just happened. May was the first to talk. "You know, you handled that better than I would have," she said.

"Thanks, I wasn't going to hurt the kid, but I figured a good scare would set him straight," Brendan said with a slight smirk.

"True, but I wouldn't make a habit of that," Lisia said.

"I won't if he doesn't," Brendan said.

"Good, anyway, I wanted to talk to you, May," Lisia said.

"About what?" May asked, a bit intrigued.

"I've been looking for somebody I can teach in the ways of Pokémon coordinating, an apprentice of sorts. They couldn't be just any old coordinator, they had to show potential," Lisia said. "Today, I became convinced that you are my best choice. What do you say?"

May was dumbfounded. "Uh, that would be great, but I still want to travel with Brendan, is that still possible?"

"Don't worry, it will only be the occasional meeting and polishing of your techniques," Lisia said. "You don't have to change any of your travel arrangements for this."

"Great, then I accept your offer," May said.

 _May, you're going to be so great!_ Gwen said before teleporting over to May and giving her a hug.

May smiled. "Thanks Gwen. I'm glad I have your support."

That was when a bell rang lightly. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, the intermission is over. It is now time to determine the order of the battle round!" On the screen, four panels were showing and the pictures of the finalists appeared a minute later.

"Well, it looks like Drew loses in the first round," Brendan said.

"I agree," Lisia said. The board showed Grace against Richard, and May would be battling Drew. It seemed that karma was working its magic.

 **Thank you all for continuing your support of my work. I can honestly say that I think this will be my best story yet. At least, that's what my gut tells me. As always, honest reviews are welcomed, just be polite.**

 **Until next time!**


	6. May Takes the Stage: Part 2

_May Takes the Stage Part 2_

Brendan and Lisia had taken their seats in the crowd and were eagerly awaiting the match between Drew and May. Brendan had been thoroughly annoyed by the little brat, and he wanted the kid to be completely humiliated by May.

"This should be fun to watch," Brendan said. "May plans to use Miranda, and Drew uses Roselia, which I assume is a grass-type. This should be easier for her."

"Not quite," Lisia said. "While the type does give her an advantage, contest battles aren't like gym battles. Points are taken away when your opponent lands a hit, if they dodge attacks, or if they counter it to make their Pokémon look better. Whoever has the most points by the end of five minutes is the winner. It's either that, or if one contestant runs out of points, the other wins."

"I see," Brendan said. "So Drew could pull this off if he battles right?"

"Yes, exactly," Lisia said. "However, I think May has what it takes to win the ribbon."

 _May will win this, I just know it!_ Gwen said, showing her enthusiasm once more. Brendan just smiled and tousled her hair lightly.

"I like your confidence," Brendan said. As he spoke, May and Drew exited their tunnels.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for our first battle to begin. May Maple and Drew Rosa, the only two coordinators of this contest who received perfect scores, are to face off," Vivian said. This earned cheers from the audience as the two coordinators took their positions on the battlefield. "Begin!"

"Miranda, take the stage!" May called out as she sent out Torchic.

"Violet, let's go," Drew said as he released his Roselia.

"Miranda, begin this with Ember!" May said. Miranda spat out a stream of flames.

"Counter that with Petal Dance!" Drew said. Roselia unleashed a barrage of pink flower petals, and each caught a flame, blocking the attack. Brendan watched as May's points dropped slightly.

"May, you can't let this guy counter that easily," Brendan said quietly.

"Miranda, use Sand-Attack!" May called out. Miranda kicked at the ground rapidly, throwing sand and dust into the air, effectively blinding Drew and Violet. "Now move around the field and use Ember again!" Miranda did as she was told, spraying a stream of flames into the cloud of dust, creating a hole in the dust cloud. Drew and Violet could not see where the attack was coming from in time, and Violet took the attack head-on. This attack caused Drew to lose a large amount of points.

"Violet, use Sweet Scent, then Toxic!" Drew said. Violet's roses began to release pink dust clouds which spread through the entire contest hall. Gwen seemed to visibly relax as the scent wafted over her.

 _That smells great,_ she said. _I just want to bottle this scent up and keep it with me._ Brendan just smiled. Gwen certainly had a way of making things amusing.

That was when Violet threw a brown ball of sludge at Miranda. "Miranda, hit that Toxic with an Ember to burn it up!" May commanded. Miranda, however, was slower since she had been completely enticed by the Sweet Scent. She started to shoot Embers, but it was too late to fully stop the attack. The blob splashed over Miranda, poisoning her badly. This dropped May's points significantly, she was now down to just less than half of her original points. Drew, on the other hand, still had three quarters of his original points. May grimaced. If she didn't think of something soon, she would be leaving empty handed. That was notgoing to happen. When Miranda looked back at her trainer, however, any worry faded away. There was a fire in the little Pokémon's eyes, and that was conveyed to her trainer. May took on a look of absolute confidence as she figured out how to win this match.

"Miranda, use Scratch and Peck together!" May said. Miranda was quick to start closing the distance between herself and Violet as her talons began to glow lightly and her beak began to glow as well.

"Violet, use Stun Spore!" Drew called out. He had clearly forgotten that he had just poisoned Miranda, so Stun Spore would be completely ineffective. Nonetheless, Violet followed orders by unleashing a cloud of yellow spores. Miranda just kept running, going through the spore cloud without batting an eye. She got to Roselia and began to claw and peck that the floral Pokémon.

"Keep it up Miranda, don't stop!" May said. The little fire chick didn't need to be told twice, as she kept the barrage going.

"Well, that was both May's connection with Miranda, and Drew's stupidity that allowed this," Lisia said as Drew's points plummeted to less than a quarter of what he had to start with. "That kid may have a talent for contests, but a slip up like that one is a sign that he's not ready to be here." Drew's points continued to drop with every successful attack until, simultaneously, Violet was knocked out and he ran out of points. He looked at the clock and saw that there was still two and a half minutes left.

"Damn it," Drew said as he fell to his knees and hung his head. He had lost humiliatingly, and he would be going home with nothing.

"And it looks like May has won the battle!" Vivian said. "She will be proceeding to the next round of the finals, either facing Richard Johnson, or Grace Callahan. This next battle will decide who that opponent is!"

"Now everybody, it's time for our second semifinal round to begin. On my left we have Richard Johnson!" Vivian said. A round of applause erupted throughout the contest hall as the young man, who was around Brendan's age and wore a nice suit.

 _You know, he has a really unfortunate name_ , Gwen said to Brendan. _I mean his name is pretty much D-_

"Gwen, that's enough," Brendan said, trying to hold back laughter.

 _What? I know you are all thinking it!_

"On my right, we have Grace Callahan!" Vivian said, this time earning even more cheers than Richard got as she walked onto the stage, waving to the audience. Both coordinators got to their positions and Vivian raised her arm. "BEGIN!"

"Let's dazzle them once more, Arya!" Grace called out as she sent out her Beautifly.

"Come on out, Al!" Richard said. The Pokémon that came out was a Murkrow, which was different from the Pokémon that Richard used in the appeals round. This Pokémon had a very unsettling air to it, much like a majority of dark types. Gwen in particular shrunk away from the crow, showing that she was a bit uneasy around dark types.

"What's wrong Gwen?" Brendan asked.

 _Nothing,_ Gwen said, but Brendan could tell that there was something she was avoiding. He gave her a look that told her he knew she was lying, but he let it drop.

"Well, if it's something you want to talk about, I will gladly listen to help you," he said. "For now, enjoy the performance."

 _Y-yeah, I'll do that._ Gwen's tone really concerned Brendan. She was talking like she was more than just concerned near a Murkrow; it sounded like she was truly scared of it. This was something he needed to address later.

"Arya, start this with Silver Wind!" Grace said. Arya swiftly beat her wings, sending silver scythes of wind at Al. This caused a strange red glow to appear around her, indicating an increase in her attacking and defending abilities as well as her speed. Murkrow didn't even bother to dodge, though.

"Al, use Payback!" Richard said. The dark crow flew at Beautifly at incredible speed, a deep purple aura surrounding him as he crashed into Arya, sending her reeling. Brendan winced at the force of the attack, and at the quarter of her total points that Grace lost, while Richard only lost about an eighth, if that. Gwen's reaction was even more worrying to Brendan. Her eyes were wide and she was shrinking back even more, trying to hide her face with his shirt. Lisia noticed too, and she gave Brendan a look to say "Is she alright?"

"Arya, Morning Sun, then use Bug Buzz!" Grace said. Arya's wings began to glow brightly, and the light nearly blinded Richard and Al. Then, a harsh buzzing was heard coming from Arya. This buzzing formed green sonic rings that flew at the crow Pokémon, staggering it and causing a purple glow to appear, indicating a reduction in his Special Attack power. Richard lost almost a quarter of his points from that attack.

"Al, use Brave Bird!" Richard said. Al flew high into the air before diving directly at Arya, a blue cloak of flames appearing around him. He struck Arya hard, sending the butterfly spinning.

That was when Brendan felt such a strong wave of panic coming from Gwen. He looked down at her and saw that she was on the verge of hyperventilating, her eyes wide. Brendan didn't bother explaining to Lisia as he stood up, got out of the row and ran to the exit of the contest hall. He had to get Gwen out of the hall immediately, and find somebody who could help her. A few of the ushers at the door saw him coming and got out of his way as he picked up his pace, pushing the doors open hard, earning a look of shock from the receptionist.

"Ma'am, is there a Pokémon nurse or doctor here?" Brendan asked. The receptionist saw Gwen, whose expression conveyed just as much panic as before, if not more.

"Well, she's on stage right now, but there is a police officer just outside the door, talk to him, he should help you get to the Pokémon Center," she said.

"Thank you," Brendan said, not skipping a beat as he ran to the sliding doors. _Gwen please calm down!_ Sure enough, there was a police officer only a short distance away, and a motorcycle with a side car was right beside him. "Hey, I need help!"

The officer looked over. "To the Pokémon Center?" he said, assessing the situation. Brendan nodded. "Then get in and hold on to that Ralts." He kicked the bike to life as soon as they were both seated, and sped toward the Pokémon Center, his lights and sirens on.

Back in the contest hall, Grace had just won her match against Richard in a close match. "That was a great match from both of our contestants, and congratulations to Grace Callahan as she progresses to the finals to face May Birch!" The audience cheered for Grace, as she and Richard both shook hands and left the stage. Lisia was the only one who wasn't cheering, she was too concerned about Gwen, but she knew that she would need to wait for the end of the contest to tell May, so that she was able to perform the best possible.

Backstage, Grace was given access to a healing machine so the next battle would be a fair match between two fully healed Pokémon. She was ready to battle; she just hoped May was too. She wanted to make this a memorable final round for May's first contest.

May stood at her end of the stage. Luckily, she had not seen Brendan running out the door with Gwen, but she did see that his seat was empty. _Oh well, he'll be back before the match ends._ What she didn't understand, though, was Lisia's troubled expression. She decided to file her questions in the back of her mind for after the final round.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the final round. This is a battle between Grace Callahan and May Birch!" Vivian said. The crowd began cheering again as both coordinators came back on stage.

Norman, who was still sitting behind his podium, was not focusing on the contest at all. He had just seen his son sprinting from the contest hall, with Gwen cradled in his arms like she was hurt. He shook himself out of his stupor. He had to stay here for twenty minutes at most, and he could drive to the Pokémon Center as soon as this contest was over.

"Begin!" Vivian said.

"Miranda, take the stage!" May called.

"Let's dazzle them one more time Arya!" Grace said. Both Miranda and Arya appeared, and they were both happy to be on stage once more. "May, since this is your first contest, you can have the first attack," Grace said.

"Thank you Grace. Now, Miranda, show them how strong your Ember is!" May said. Miranda began to shoot flames at Arya, but Grace saw this basic attack coming.

"Counter that with Silver Wind!" Arya began flapping her wings rapidly, sending silver scythes of wind at Miranda, hitting and stalemating with the Ember attack.

"Just what I hoped you'd do," May said. "Miranda, jump over Arya and use Ember as you go over!" Miranda jumped into the air, vaulting over the butterfly, pelting her with flames, and, since Arya's attack was already aimed at where Miranda began, Silver Wind was too slow at catching up to the stream of fire. That caused Grace to lose almost a quarter of her points. At the same time, May lost about a sixth of her points due to Grace's counter.

"Well, that was devious and well planned," Grace said. "But I still have some trump cards. Arya, use Hidden Power!" At that command, blue orbs began to circle Arya before joining into one orb, which then shot a beam at Miranda.

 _Damn, that must be a water-type hidden power_ , May thought. "Alright, Miranda, jump to my right side and get out of the way of that attack. Then use Ember as you run around Arya!" Miranda dodged as May said, just barely getting out of the way in time, as she began pelting Arya with sparks of fire from all sides. May grinned as she saw Grace's points drop below the halfway mark.

"Arya, use Flash!" Grace said, clearly not concerned about her points. May and Miranda had no time to shield their eyes from the blinding light that flared from Arya's wings. This blinding light caused Miranda to lose track of her footing and trip, causing May to lose almost another quarter of her points. "Now use Gust!" Arya began to flap her wings again, this time generating a tornado. This gave May an idea.

"Miranda, use Ember on that Gust attack!" she called out. Miranda got back on her feet and began to shoot fire at Arya's tornado. The wind picked up the fire, which began to spread through the wind. Grace's eyes went wide as May turned an incoming attack into her way of dazzling the audience and the judges, and it was working well. Grace was now down to less than a quarter of her points, while May was just below the halfway mark.

 _I guess this is why Lisia likes this girl. She has incredible talent_ Grace thought. "Arya, use Solar Beam, break that tornado and end this battle!"

"Miranda, leap through that tornado and use a fiery Peck!" May said, using part of their appeal routine in the battle round. Miranda didn't waste a second as she leapt through the flames, bursting through like a rocket, and she was aimed perfectly at Arya, who would not be able to move as she charged up her Solar Beam. She was almost done charging up, but almost just wasn't enough, when Miranda hit her mark. The combination of the flying type attack and the fire trailing behind it was too much for Arya to take and she fell to the ground.

The judge podiums all had red X's on their screens, indicating a knock out. The match, and thus the contest, was over. May just stood in shock for a moment as she processed what just happened. She had just won her first contest, and she didn't know what to do. That was when Miranda leapt into May's arms, bringing her back to reality, where the crowd was roaring and Mr. Contesta approached May with a fancy box in hand.

"Miss Birch, I am very pleased to present you with the Petalburg Contest Ribbon. Congratulations on winning your first ribbon, and let me say that we are already expecting great things from you," he said as he gave May her newly won ribbon.

"HURRAY I WON MY FIRST CONTEST!" she yelled ecstatically. She looked into the crowd hoping to see Brendan and Gwen cheering for her, but she saw that neither sitting in their seats. This troubled her. What was so important that Brendan missed her final performance?

That was when Norman came up to May. "May, congratulations on your win, but you need to come with me. I know you noticed that Brendan wasn't here, and I think it has something to do with Gwen," he said.

"Wait, what?" May said, not sure if she heard Norman correctly.

"It's true," Lisia said, approaching May. "I'm not sure what happened, but during Grace's battle with Richard, it seemed like Gwen was having a panic attack. Brendan ran out of the hall almost immediately after Richard's Murkrow used Brave Bird."

"Oh Arceus!" May said. "I'll grab my bags and we can leave then."

"Hurry, we should be there for Brendan," Norman said.

 **There you have it. May has won her first contest, but now there looms a few questions about Gwen. They'll be answered in the next chapter, so stay tuned.**

 **As always reviews are welcomed, just be polite about it.**

 **Lastly, I am going to pre-emptively answer a question that I think will be asked for this chapter: Richard's Murkrow's name is a reference to Al Capone. Hope that doesn't offend people, but it's not going to be changed (plus it's only a one-time name for a Pokémon).**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you next time.**


	7. The Loss of Serenity

_The Loss of Serenity_

Brendan ran into the Pokémon Center's main room, Gwen with the look of fear still on her face. Despite having been out of the contest hall for ten minutes, she still was unable to calm down. There was no nurse at the counter, but the other option was probably better. There was a man wearing a white lab coat with a stethoscope. "Hey, my Ralts needs help!" Brendan said. The man, whose nametag identified him as Dr. Jameson, looked up and got a look of shock.

"Chansey get a gurney right now, and ready a sedative!" he said. "What happened to her?"

"We were just at the contest, and when one of the coordinators brought out a Murkrow she started getting scared. About halfway through the battle, she was panicking. It got worse every time the Murkrow attacked," Brendan said as the Chansey arrived with the requested gurney, a tray with a syringe and needle, and a bottle of what Brendan assumed to be the sedative. Brendan placed Gwen onto the cart and followed the two to the examination room.

"Young man, if you don't mind, I will need you to wait outside the room for a while. Once Ralts is stable, we will take her to a medical suite where you may stay with her," Dr. Jameson said as he entered the room.

"Thank you," Brendan said. He walked over to the padded bench a few feet from the exam room door, and sat quietly. _Damn it, why didn't I get her out of the hall sooner? I knew something was wrong, but I didn't do anything about it! If this is how I react when my Pokémon are sending me clear signals that something is wrong, how will I be any better when those signals are more hidden?_ Brendan clenched his fists and his eyes tightened in frustration. He looked at the door with a look of deep concern etched on his face. _Please Gwen, just be okay._

Just as he thought that, the "Operation in Progress" light turned off and Dr. Jameson exited the room with a sigh of relief. "Your Ralts has calmed down, and she is asleep now. All the little gal needs is a night of rest to recover, and she will be fine," he said.

Brendan breathed a little easier when he heard that. "Thank you Doctor."

"Be glad that you got her here when you did. If she got here much later, there may have been permanent damage," he said.

"What exactly happened?" Brendan asked, needing to get some information about his Pokémon's condition.

"The best I can tell, she had a severe panic attack. I'm no Pokémon psychologist, but she seems to have a deep seated fear of Murkrow and Honchkrow. That is something that must be addressed to make sure this doesn't happen. If she keeps having these episodes, the strain on her heart will shorten her lifespan significantly," he said with a grave tone of voice.

"I understand. I'll help her get through this," Brendan said, a slightly upset tone.

Dr. Jameson had a sympathetic look. "I will arrange for you and your Ralts to stay in our best suite," he said.

"Thank you," Brendan said.

Brendan sat in a chair by Gwen's bedside, and he was waiting for her to wake up. He was about to fall asleep when a soft knock sounded on the door. "Come in," he said. The door opened and revealed May, Norman, Lizia, and Grace.

"Hey, how is she?" May said, a look of concern on her face as she and the others entered the room.

"She's fine, she just needs some sleep," Brendan said with a slight smile. "How'd the contest go?"

"May won against Grace in the final match," Lisia said. "It was close, but May came out on top. It really was an impressive match."

"Well great job winning May," Brendan said.

"Thank you. But next time, I hope you can stay for the whole show," May said.

Brendan just looked at Gwen and placed a hand on her head. "So do I," he said. That was when Gwen's eyes began to flutter open.

 _W-where am I? What happened?_ Gwen asked.

"You had a panic attack," Brendan said. "I brought you to the Pokémon Center as fast as I could. The doctor said you would be fine if you slept for a while."

 _Oh, I see. I guess I'm still not over my fear of Murkrow and Honchkrow_ , Gwen said.

"Gwen, I know it won't be easy for you to tell me, but I need to know, why you are so afraid of Murkrow and Honchkrow," Brendan said.

Gwen was quiet for a time. _Lizia, Grace, Mr. Maple, would you mind leaving me with Brendan and May? I'm not sure if I'm ready for so many people to hear this._

"Of course," Norman said. "We'll be right outside if you need us." They left the room and closed the door.

May looked at Gwen when they left, and she saw that Gwen was fidgeting a little bit, clearly not sure how to start this. And more than that, she had tears in her eyes. She placed a hand on Gwen's and held it tightly to comfort her. "It's okay Gwen, no matter what happened or what will happen, we will be here for you."

 _No, it's really not okay,_ Gwen said. _I'm glad that you two will be here for me, but the reason I'm so scared of Murkrow and Honchkrow is…_ That was when she began to cry openly. _Because my mother was killed by a flock of them._

May didn't know what to say. This was a big revelation.

Brendan, however, knew how to address this. "Please, tell us what happened so we can help you."

 _Alright, I will_. _It happened about a year before I met Brendan:_

*One year earlier*

"Sam! Stop that, it hurts!" Gwen cried out as she ran and covered her head from the incoming pebbles. All that came from behind her was laughter from the other Ralts. She was running with her eyes closed, so she didn't see the cliff getting closer. Sam didn't see it either until he stopped throwing stones long enough to notice. When he did, he dropped the remaining rocks.

"Gwen, stop!" Sam said. "You're running straight for a cliff!" Gwen heard him call out, so she opened her eyes, but despite trying to stop, she tripped over one of the rocks that landed in front of her. She stumbled too far and she fell over the edge. "Gwen!"

"Aaaaahhhh!" she cried out as she rolled and bounced down the steep slope. It wasn't long before she landed at the bottom of the cliff, just about twenty feet below. "Owww!" she said as she landed hard. Gwen's right leg felt like it was broken, and her body was covered with cuts and bruises.

"Gwen, are you okay?" Sam called out, clearly scared as he looked over the edge of the cliff.

"I think so, but I think my leg is broken!" Gwen called back up.

"I'm going back to the village to get help, just hold on!" Sam said.

"O-okay," Gwen said. "Not like I really have much of a choice," she muttered.

It felt like many hours had passed since Sam left, even though Gwen knew that her village was about a half an hour walk away from where she was. She was trying to keep herself calm as she lay there, but the pain radiating from her arm kept bringing her mind back to her predicament. The only thing that really helped her relax was the pond nearby. Other than that, she was terrified.

"Serenity! Serenity!" Sam called out as he ran toward Gwen's home, one of the grass huts that filled the hidden village of Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir, and Gallade. The cloth draped in the doorway was pushed aside as a Gardevoir came outside.

"What is it Sam?" Serenity asked, noting the worry in the boy's voice.

"Gwen's in trouble, she needs help!" Sam said. Serenity gasped in surprise as her eyes went wide.

"Where is my daughter?" Serenity said.

"I'll take you to her." With that, Sam and Serenity both ran from the village.

Gwen was growing concerned now, as menacing storm clouds gathered overhead. "Sam, Mom, where are you?" she said. When she heard movement near her, she thought that it was her rescue. Oh how wrong she was. What she heard was neither her mother nor her friend. What she had heard, which became clearer by the second, was the beating of wings.

"Mom, where are you?" Gwen said, fear clear in her voice. Her fears proved to be well founded, as, unprovoked, a flock of Murkrow and Honchkrow swooped down at her and began to attack her.

"Get out of our territory!" the largest Honchkrow said, with a thick Italian accent. "Or we will kill you!"

"I can't walk," Gwen called out. "My leg is bro-. OW!" she was cut off as two Murkrow pecked at her.

"Does it look like we care if you're injured?" the large raven Pokémon said. "This is our territory and you trespassed. Now move!" A blinding flash of light filled the area.

"Liar!" Serenity yelled. "This has never been your territory, it belongs to the Gardevoir and Gallade village. Now leave my daughter alone, or I will show you no mercy!"

"What the hell can you do, you hussy?" the Honchkrow said.

"This," Serenity said. Her eyes began to glow with a soft pink glow. Gwen quickly found herself teleported to her mother's side before another blinding light that filled the area as Serenity hit the flock with a Dazzling Gleam attack.

"Mom!" Gwen said as she hugged Serenity's leg, earning a smile from the Gardevoir.

"You're safe now Gwen, I'll handle this," Serenity said. "But first, you need to be healed!" She opened her palm toward Gwen and a ring of purple energy appeared and Gwen felt her injures heal in an instant. "Now, find Sam and get out of here. I'll deal with this gang."

"O-okay," Gwen said.

"Forget about getting out of here, little bitch! Now, all of you use Payback!" Honchkrow said. Every one of the Murkrow and Honchkrow in the flock fired multiple dark streams of energy at Serenity.

"YOU WILL NOT DO HARM TO MY DAUGHTER!" Serenity said as she created a barrier around herself and Gwen. "Now, I will show you what happens when you anger a Gardevoir, especially for attacking her baby!" She yelled out. She gathered multiple balls of pearlescent pink energy and threw them at the flock, where they exploded. The attack, however, only seemed to anger the flock.

"Oh, I would not worry about your daughter anymore," Honchkrow said. "Now, I think we're going to kill you! Everybody, hit her with Brave Bird from all sides!"

Serenity's eyes went wide. She understood what would happen to her. No matter how strong she was, there was no defending against so many Pokémon using the most powerful flying attack. And with so many coming at her, she doubted that she would get home unscathed, if she got home at all. Serenity just looked to her daughter, and gave her a sad smile. "Gwen, this won't be easy for you, but no matter what happens to me, just remember that I love you. Now, you must stay safe," she said as she teleported her daughter away from the danger. There was so much more that she wanted to say to her daughter, but she had not the time to say what she wanted to.

That was when the flock of Murkrow and Honchkrow began to dive at her with blue flames erupting around them. _Gwen, I wish I could be there to help you as you grow up. You will need to be strong from now on. I am so sorry that this had to happen, but I know that you will be okay, that you are destined for greatness. I know we will see each other again, I just know it. I will watch over you, my pride and joy. I love you._ That was when all of the incoming birds slammed into her, creating a massive explosion.

Gwen had tried to stay with her mother while being teleported, and as a result, she appeared at the top of the cliff, and she crawled over to the edge. She peered over just in time to watch her mother get hit by the entire flock of Murkrow and Honchkrow, slammed into her mother and created the explosion. "MOTHER!" she cried out. The flames subsided and the flock flew away, clearly proud of their victory.

"Alright boys and girls, let's go back home. This will show everybody that we are not to be messed with," the head Honchkrow said. This got people cawing in agreement. They all flew to the tree line and went deep into the forest, finding their nesting for the night.

Gwen could not keep herself on the cliff, she climbed down the rock wall as fast as her body could carry her. "Mother!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes as she ran toward the burned and battered body on the ground. "Mother, please be okay!" Gwen got to her mother, who still had not moved from the spot that she had fallen, and tears were falling freely. "Mother, please get up!" Gwen shook Serenity's shoulder, trying to wake her up, hoping she was just knocked out. "Mother, PLEASE!" That shaking cause Serenity's head to turn and face Gwen, revealing that her eyes were wide open, but Gwen could see that their light had already gone out.

"No," she said, shock easily seen on her face. "No, you can't be dead. You can't be! Mother, COME BACK TO ME!" Gwen said.

*Back to the Present*

 _I was told that the rest of the village found me there a few hours later. I don't remember when that happened, I wasn't really conscious at the time. It took me half a year to get over my grief, and even though the village helped me, after a while I didn't feel like I belonged there anymore. I left about two weeks before Brendan moved to Littleroot Town. I was actually on Route 101 when he and his mother went by in their moving van. I sensed that Brendan had an innate talent for Pokémon training, but I sensed something even greater in him. I sensed that he had a pure heart. That was when I decided to meet and befriend him. I figured that having a trainer would do me good._

"Gwen, I'm so sorry," Brendan said.

 _I-it's alright_ she said as she silently cried. _I just need some more time._

Brendan picked up Gwen and held her closely. "I'll be here for you, no matter what. If you need to talk to either of us, don't hesitate."

"Exactly, we will both be here," May said stroking Gwen's hair, which seemed to calm Gwen a lot.

 _Thank you both,_ Gwen said.

"I just want you to promise me that you won't keep things like this hidden from us anymore," Brendan said. "If you hide things from us, we won't be able to help you through your troubles."

Gwen looked up at Brendan in a way that told him that their bond had just been strengthened considerably from this moment alone. _Thank you Brendan, and you too May. You're the best friends a Pokémon could ask for._

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, reviews are welcomed so long as they are constructive.**

 **In the next chapter, we will meet a certain sunglasses and Hawaiian shirt wearing talent scout and, there will be a new addition to both Brendan's and May's teams.**

 **So, enjoy life until next time.**


	8. Meeting New Friends

_Meeting New Friends_

Two days later, Gwen had fully healed and she was cleared to leave the Pokémon Center. So Brendan and May had their bags ready, with Gwen riding on Brendan's shoulder as they left the building.

"Alright, it's about time that we continued to Rustboro City," Brendan said. "I want to win my gym badge!"

"Right, and I want to see the sights of Rustboro City. It's home to Devon Corporation, which is one of the two biggest technology companies in the world. The only company that rivals Devon is The Silph Company."

 _Wow, really? That sounds really cool. I can't wait to see that place._

"I see I've come across a couple traveling trainers, one with a Ralts on his shoulder, the other who won the Petalburg Contest. And they are traveling together. This is a rare sight indeed," said a new voice. Brendan whipped around to face the source, only to come face-to-face with a middle-aged man wearing black sunglasses, and a blue Hawaiian shirt.

"Um, can we help you?" Brendan asked.

"Hmm, well, you guys looked like experienced trainers from behind, but now that I see you from the front, it seems like you are rookie trainers still," he said.

"Yeah, but why does that make any difference?" May asked.

"Well, it's not a bad thing to have just started out, don't get me wrong. However, I'm looking for the strongest trainers. I hope I can actually approach you two in the future with the offer I was going to present to you, but I think you two should continue to improve your skills as trainers first," the man said. "Sorry for wasting your time." With that, the man left, heading toward Route 104.

 _What the heck was that all about?_ Gwen said.

"I've heard that there is a new, exclusive battle facility opening in the Hoenn region," May said. "Apparently only master trainers are allowed to participate in the battles there."

"Really?" Brendan said.

"Yeah, it's pretty prestigious to even be invited to it," May said.

"Well, then let's hope we both get to that level of ability," Brendan said.

 _Of course we will!_ Gwen said enthusiastically.

"Right! So, shall we keep moving?" May said as she kept walking without waiting for the answer.

"I guess we will keep moving," Brendan said.

 _Sounds good Goldenrod!_ Gwen said. Brendan face-palmed when he heard her say that nickname. _What? I never said I was going to stop using that nickname!_

"Oh it's nothing, I just now understand that you plan to annoy me a lot," Brendan said.

 _It took you this long to figure that out? Well, if that's the case, then I feel sorry for May._

"What do you mean by that?"

 _Oh nothing. At least nothing that you will find out for about three months_ , Gwen said. She teleported away, only to reappear on May's shoulder a few feet away from Brendan.

"Oh, hey Gwen," May said. "What's up?"

 _Nothing, just wanted to have some girl time_ , Gwen said. _I can only take so much of Mr. Goldenrod at a time._

"I heard that!" Brendan called from behind them.

 _Good, because you were supposed to!_ Gwen replied, causing May to laugh at how the two interacted. It was almost like they were brother and sister, just by how they acted.

May continued to walk until she made it to a small cliff which offered a beautiful view of a small beach and the ocean. There she stopped, closing her eyes and letting the breeze blow through her hair. Brendan was a few feet away, but he was stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what May and Gwen both looked like.

Gwen looked as cute as she normally did, well cute for a Pokémon. May, however, had taken just the right pose and the sunlight was hitting her perfectly. Even more than the first day he met her, May had taken Brendan's breath away. Gwen, however, noticed Brendan's attentions being fixated on May. Instead of calling him out, she began to talk to May about it.

 _You know, Brendan is completely enamored with you. He can't stop looking at you._

"Oh I've noticed," May said quietly so that Brendan couldn't hear her. "I'm just having some fun in seeing how much I can make him squirm."

 _Oh, you're evil!_ Gwen said. _I knew I liked you for a good reason!_

Behind them, Brendan had gotten out his phone and snapped a picture of the two girls. This was a moment he wanted to remember for a while, especially since he felt like this was when his journey was about to seriously begin.

"Hey, Gwen, sorry to do this to you, but can you go back to Brendan? I see a Pokémon I want," May said.

 _You needn't ask,_ the little Pokémon said as she teleported onto Brendan's shoulder. May then hopped down the small cliff and ran across the beach, a Pokéball in hand.

"Wait, isn't that an empty Pokéball?" Brendan asked.

 _I think so, by the way, do you know what Pokémon she saw?_

"No, did you?" Brendan asked.

 _I missed it._ That was when they all heard cheering from May. Brendan ran to the cliff only to see May leaping up and down, a Pokéball raised.

"Hey! Are you going to tell us what Pokémon you caught, or will you be keeping us in the dark?" Brendan said as he approached.

"Yeah, here's my new Pokémon. C'MON OUT!" May called as she opened the Pokéball. What came out was a small seagull Pokémon, which Brendan didn't recognize at all.

"Huh, what is that?" he asked as he pulled out his Pokédex.

Wingull, the Seagull Pokémon. Wingull rides updrafts rising from the sea by extending its long and narrow wings to glide and it flies as if it were skating across the sky. This Pokémon's long beak is useful for catching prey. It also has a habit of carrying prey and valuables in its beak and hiding them in all sorts of locations.

"So, you're a Wingull," Brendan said as Gwen leapt from his shoulder. It seemed she wanted to serve as the translator of the group. She began to converse in Poke-talk with the bird Pokémon. After a few minutes she turned back to the two trainers.

 _This Wingull says that his name is Graham. He said he's a bit shocked that May caught him without even trying to battle first, but it he's glad that you didn't, since he's not a big fan of battling._

"Well, Graham, would you mind contest battles?" May asked.

Wingull looked at her inquisitively for a moment before talking a bit more, which Gwen translated. _He said that he's seen a contest about a year ago in Slateport City and he thought it looked like fun._

"That's good to know, because you and I will be performing together from now on!" May said. This earned a cheerful screech from the gull Pokémon. "Alright, we're going to have to keep moving, so do you want to go back into your Pokéball?" May asked. Wingull nodded, so May recalled her newest Pokémon and looked to Brendan. "Alright, let's go, we have to go through the Petalburg Woods to get to Rustboro City."

"Sounds good, but just realize that I am catching the first Pokémon I see when we get in there," Brendan said.

"That's probably either a Wurmple or a Taillow," May said.

"What do you mean?" Brendan asked.

"You came from Johto, so I assume you know about the Ilex Forest. Petalburg Woods are basically the same, just with Hoenn Pokémon."

"So it's a bug and bird paradise?"

"Yes, there are other Pokémon there too, but they are harder to find."

"Like what?"

 _Nincada, which are bug types that evolve into two separate Pokémon, Shroomish, which is a grass type that gains fighting type upon evolving, and then there's Slakoth, who has the Truant ability but has insane attacking capabilities._

"Hmm," Brendan hummed as he considered his options. "Well, those are some pretty good options. I guess we'll see what we come across."

Just as they were getting to the entrance of the woods, two people, a boy and a girl who couldn't be more than twelve, approached them. They were wearing really expensive looking clothing. "Hey, peasants!" the blonde haired boy called out. Brendan and May didn't dignify that with a response as they began to walk by the two people.

"HEY, DO NOT IGNORE US!" the girl said.

May just rolled her eyes and turned toward the two. "What the hell do you want?"

"It's not about what we want, it's about what you are going to do for us," the boy said.

"And what exactly is that?" Brendan said.

"We are both bored, so you are going to battle us, and you will lose intentionally," the girl said.

"Well, you got the second part right, but we will never lose to you," May said.

"Oh, you will find that we always get what we want, no matter what!" the girl said.

 _Damn talk about spoiled brats_ Gwen said.

The two brats heard Gwen speaking and looked intrigued. "Well, I think we found what we really want now. If you win, you may leave. When we win, you give us your talking Ralts," the girl said.

"Okay, let me set you straight right now. If you think you will ever lay so much as a finger on Gwen, then you are delusional. Besides, you don't have the skill to beat us," Brendan said.

"Well, we are richer than anybody in the Hoenn region, so we will beat you easily with our superior items," the boy said. "And we always get what we want."

"Richer than the Stone family?" May asked, referring to the president of the Devon Corporation and his family.

"Well, no, but that's not the point!" the girl said. "Our money will ensure our win!"

"We will see about that. Gwen, you want to battle these fools?" Brendan asked.

 _You need to ask?_ Gwen asks as she jumped to the ground, with an angry look in her eye. How dare they think that their wealth could separate her from her trainer! They would learn the hard way that she was not a prize to be won.

"Oh, this is a tag battle," the boy said.

"We know, we're not idiots like you two," May said as she tossed out Lily's Pokéball, releasing her cocoon Pokémon. "Are you ready to lose?"

"Oh such foul words from such a pretty mouth," the girl said. "You should know that ladies never act that way!"

"Whatever, just send out your Pokémon," May said, increasingly annoyed by this couple.

"Go Zigzagoon!" they both said simultaneously as they released two raccoon Pokémon with spiky brown fur.

"May, you ready?" Brendan asked.

"One moment; Lily, it's time to evolve!" May said. Lily looked back at her trainer with a gleam in her eyes as she began to glow a brilliant white color as her body transformed into that of a butterfly as she became a Beautifly. The glowing stopped and the evolution was finished. "Now I'm ready."

"Let's begin!" the boy said. "My Zigzagoon, use Tail Whip!"

"My Zigzagoon, use Tackle!" the girl said. The boy's Zigzagoon began to wag his tail cutely, trying to get Gwen and Lily to lower their defenses. That didn't exactly work as intended, as Gwen took initiative and grabbed the raccoon with Confusion and froze it in place. The other Zigzagoon ran at Gwen, hoping to break her focus.

"Great job Gwen, now throw that Zigzagoon!" Brendan said.

 _I planned to,_ Gwen said as Zigzagoon flew back into the boy, sending both sprawling into the dirt.

"Lily, use Gust to stop the other Zigzagoon!" May commanded. Lily began to flap her wings rapidly sending a powerful wind at the raccoon Pokémon, who was stopped by the power of the wind alone.

"Alright Gwen, use Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. As he gave the command, he noticed that the boy's Zigzagoon had gotten up and the boy had dropped the casing of a used Full Restore. Gwen shouted loudly, sending out two distinct soundwaves at both Zigzagoon, which caused both to recoil. "May, care to finish them with a combination attack?"

"You bet! Lily, use Gust!"

"Gwen, use Confusion to power it up!" As Lily beat her wings and generated a powerful wind, Gwen's eyes began to glow blue and the wind suddenly became much more vicious, with dust kicking up and hitting the Zigzagoons hard and then causing them to be thrown through the air. The two raccoons slumped on the ground as they landed, resulting in a double knock out.

"Yeah! Great job Gwen!" Brendan said as he ran up and scooped up Gwen in his arm, hugging her.

"You were incredible Lily!" May said hugging her Pokémon as well.

"Well, I guess we will be taking your Ralts now," the boy said.

"What the hell are you talking about? You lost, and you weren't going to get Gwen even if you won," Brendan said.

"Did you not hear me when I said that we always get what we want?"

Brendan glared at them hard. "I don't know who you two are, but if you try to lay a single hand on my Pokémon, I will call Officer Jenny," Brendan said.

"Go ahead and try it, we'll just buy her off," the girl said. The boy began to reach for Gwen.

 _DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME!_ Gwen said as the boy was gripped with a Confusion, which froze him in place. _NOW IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO LEAF US ALONE_! With that, Gwen threw the boy into a nearby treeline. Brendan looked at Gwen, shocked at the pun that she slipped into what she just said. _What? If we're going to deal with these brats, I might as well get some laughs out of it._

"Winston!" the girl called out as she ran to the tree line, but stopped before going through. "Are you okay?"

"No, that bitch of a Ralts ruined my suit!" the boy said as he limped out of the treeline.

"WINSTON! CINDY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?" said an angry sounding man called out. Brendan and May turned to see a middle-aged man, dressed as nicely as the two twelve year-olds, but he looked furious.

"Father, th-they attacked us!" the boy, who was apparently Winston, said as he began to fake tears.

"Tauros shit! I saw you trying to grab that Ralts off her trainer's shoulder as if you were trying to steal it!" he said.

 _They challenged Brendan and May to a battle, and they said that they would take me from Brendan if he lost. When we won decisively, they tried to take me anyway!_ Gwen said.

The man glared at the children. "Is this true?" The girl, who Brendan assumed to be Cindy, looked down at her feet. The man squeezed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can't take things from other people just because you have money?"

"But Father," the girl started.

"BUT NOTHING!" the man said before approaching Brendan and May. "I am so sorry for the horrendous behavior of my children, they should know better than this."

"It's alright. To be honest, I think Gwen helped them learn their lesson pretty quickly," Brendan said.

"Yeah, I saw that, and I was quite impressed by that attack," the man said. "I was a decent trainer back in the day, but I've never seen such a strong confusion attack from a Ralts."

Brendan reached up and gave Gwen a gentle hair tussle. "Yeah, she's impressed me every day since we started this journey."

The man smiled. That was when his children tried to sneak off without their father noticing.

 _Hey jerks, where do you think you're going?_ Gwen yelled at them, still bitter about their attempt to steal her from her best friend.

The man turned to look at his children. "They will stay right there or their punishment will get more severe!" he said. That made Winston and Cindy stop where they were. "Anyway, I can't make up for what my children did in a way that's helpful to you two. All I can do is promise that this will never happen again."

"That's fine," May said. "Thank you for coming along when you did."

"It was nothing," he said as he turned to Winston and Cindy. "Now, let's go home, your mother will be very interested to hear what you two did today." With that, the man and his family left Brendan, May, and Gwen behind.

"Well, that was unnecessarily convoluted. It felt like it was a filler episode in an anime," May said.

Brendan looked at May with an intrigued expression. "You watch anime?"

"On occasion, mostly shows like Naruto and Bleach," she said.

"That's pretty cool," Brendan said. "Well, I think it's high time we went into the Petalburg Woods, don't you?"

"Absolutely," May said. Without any more motivation, Brendan and May began to walk into the forest. As they moved under the incredibly thick canopy, morning turned to dusk within minutes.

Damn it's dark in here," Brendan noted.

 _How long did it take you to figure that out?_ Gwen asked.

"Don't give me sass," Brendan said. Gwen just laughed to herself.

"So let's find you a Pokémon," May said.

"Sounds good to me," Brendan said.

 _Let me handle this!_ Gwen closed her eyes and began to concentrate for a short time. She opened her eyes and pointed toward a set of trees. _The closest Pokémon is just behind that tree._

"Can you tell what it is?"

 _I can, but I'm not telling you, because that'd be no fun!_

"Fine. May, I'm going to see what's back there," Brendan said.

"Ok, I will be waiting here," she said.

Brendan crept around the tree, expecting to see a Pokémon trying to escape. Instead, he saw a small sloth Pokémon that barely even acknowledged Brendan's appearance.

"Is that a Slakoth?" Brendan asked as he pulled out his Pokédex.

 _Don't bother with the Pokédex. I know for a fact that this is a Slakoth._

"So, should I battle it? It doesn't look like it has the energy to move, let alone battle."

 _That's just how all Slakoth are, they have a lot of power for battles, their just incredibly lazy._

"Okay, come out Clint!" Brendan said as he released the wood gecko. "Use Pound!" Treecko ran at the sloth Pokémon and hit it with his tail. The impact startled Slakoth, and it got the Pokémon roused. Slakoth swiped its clawed hand at Clint, hitting him hard with a Scratch attack, throwing him back.

"Take some health back with Absorb!" Brendan said. A small orb of green energy gathered in Clint's hands, which he threw at the Slakoth. The orb hit the sloth, grew in size, and then flew back to Clint, where it melted into his tail, replenishing his health. For whatever reason, Slakoth just scratched at an itch on its head. "Alright, I think it's time for me to try a Pokéball," Brendan said as he pulled out an empty Pokéball and threw it at the Slakoth, who made no effort to dodge or stop it. The Pokémon was taken into the ball, which shook three times before it stopped and released sparks into the air, indicating a capture.

"ALRIGHT! I CAUGHT A SLAKOTH!" Brendan cheered. May, who was half asleep on a tree stump, bolted upright as Brendan's cheering scared her out of her daze. She got up and approached Brendan, who already had the new Pokémon out of its Pokéball and Gwen was having a rather slow conversation…or maybe it was fast for the Slakoth.

 _Hmm, so this Slakoth is Nikki, and she said she is okay with battling, but she will not move too quickly._ Gwen said.

"Well Nikki, it's nice to meet you. I'm Brendan and this is Gwen, as I'm sure she told you. The speed you have isn't a problem, so long as you have a strong fighting spirit," Brendan said.

May waved to Nikki, "My name is May, and it's great to meet you."

"Slakoth-Slaaa!" Nikki said.

 _That means that she is happy to meet you too,"_ Gwen translated. Then she turned to Brendan. _She also said that she doesn't want to walk too much, if you don't mind._

"I don't mind at all," Brendan said as he pulled out Nikki's Pokéball. "Now, return!" Nikki smiled lightly as she was recalled to her Pokéball. Brendan straightened up and Gwen teleported back onto his shoulder. "Alright May, you ready to continue?"

"Absolutely," May said. The two trainers continued to walk through the forest , unaware of the mess in which they were about to find themselves.


	9. More Than Friends

_More Than Friends_

Brendan and May walked side-by-side, with Gwen standing on Brendan's shoulder as they continued through the dense forest. It was getting late in the day when they came across a man wearing a business suit and holding a nice briefcase, looking out of place. "Ah, not a one to be found," he said. He then turned to Brendan and May, and approached them with a smile. "Hello," he said in a pleasant tone.

"Good evening," Brendan said. "Can we help you with something?"

"It's nothing important, I was just wondering if either of you had seen a Shroomish. I'm really fond of that Pokémon," he said.

"Sorry, we haven't," May said.

"Ah well, I guess I won't be finding one today," he said. As soon as he said that, two people, a man and a woman, in matching outfits leapt from the trees. They both wore a black bandana with what looked like a dis-figured "A" on the front. Their shirts were horizontally striped blue and white, they wore black gloves and a black sash around their waists. The woman's shorts barely went halfway down her thighs, and they were cut in a zigzagging pattern. The man was wearing jeans with a similar cut pattern, but they went to his ankles. Lastly, both wore blue and white striped socks and black shoes with blue accents.

"Well, we were going to ambush you, but you had to dawdle around here all day," the man said. The business man seemed to jump out of his skin as he turned toward the duo.

"Wh-what do you two want?" he asked in a panic.

"For starters, we want the documents from your company," the woman scoffed, her tone making it sound as if that should be completely obvious.

May looked at Brendan and Gwen, her eyes asking "What will we do?"

 _We will stop them; we can't let this go on!_ Gwen said to Brendan and May only.

"You're right," Brendan said. "So, Gwen, do you want to lead this battle?"

 _Actually, I think this one should go to Nikki. She should learn how you battle as soon as possible_ Gwen said.

"Yeah, you're right," Brendan said as he grabbed Nikki's Pokéball.

"I'll be starting with Lily," May said.

"Alright, you ready?" Brendan said.

"Hey, you two, please help me," the business begged Brendan and May.

"You got it," May said as she and Brendan stepped between him and the two goons.

"You two are honestly going to try protecting this idiot?" the man said. When neither Brendan nor May wavered, he shook his head. "Whatever, it's your funeral. It's time for you two to experience a world of hurt, delivered by none other than Team Aqua!"

"We will see about that, won't we?" Brendan said. "Let's go Nikki!"

"Lily, come on out!" May said. Both Pokéballs opened and released the sloth and butterfly.

"Go Sal," the male Aqua said as he let out a Poochyena.

"You too Danni," the female Aqua said as she let out a Poochyena of her own.

"Alright, Nikki, let's start things off with a Scratch attack on Sal," Brendan said.

"Lily, use Gust on Danni!" May called out. Nikki stood up and ran at Sal, swinging her clawed hand across his face; at the same time, Lily began beating her wings rapidly, sending powerful winds at Danni." Both of the Poochyena stumbled backwards as they were hit by the brunt of the attacks.

"Sal, use Howl!" the man said. The Poochyena began to howl, and that howling created a crimson glow from the little dog, indicating an increase of his attacking power.

"Danni, you use Growl," the woman Aqua. The female Poochyena gave a guttural growl, this caused both Lily and Nikki to glow a dark purple for a few seconds, indicating a loss of attack power.

"Nikki, use Yawn on Sal!" Brendan said, hoping to put Sal to sleep. Nikki did as she was told, yawning just enough to make Sal yawn as well.

"Lily, you use Poison Sting on Danni!" May called out. Lily's long mouth uncurled and she spat a single barb covered in purple toxins at the little dog. The barb hit her on her side and stuck where it was. Danni took on a vibrant, violet color, and lightning of the same color coursed through her fur. It was clear that she had been dealt a poisoned status condition.

"Danni, use Tackle on that Slakoth!" the woman said. Danni ran toward Nikki at a pretty high speed.

"Nikki, use Scratch to stop that Tackle!" Brendan countered. Nikki raised her right arm slowly, or maybe quickly for her. Then, just as Brendan was sure Danni would land a hit, Nikki's claws swiped across the dog's face hard, sending it flying. When she hit the ground, her poisoning acted up again. Her entire body lit up with a violet glow and she yelped in pain shortly before going silent and passing out. The woman recalled her Poochyena with a grimace.

"That's one down, one more to go," May said. "Now, Lily, use Gust one more time!" Lily began beating her wings rapidly, sending powerful winds at Sal, who was thrown against a tree from the force of the wind, and he passed out as well.

"Shit! How could we lose?" the man said as he recalled his own Poochyena. He turned to face Brendan and May and growled at them. "Alright, you two, battle us again."

"You dumbass, we're both out of Pokémon!" the woman yelled at her partner. "Besides, we already have an operation going on in Rustboro, this is really an inconsequential job."

"Yeah, you're right," the man said as he calmed down. "You two brats better not cross Team Aqua, or you won't live to regret it." With that, the two thugs left Brendan and May with the businessman.

"Oh thank Arceus you two were here," the man said. "If they had taken my documents, then I would have lost my job for sure."

"It was no problem at all. We weren't going to watch somebody get robbed," Brendan said.

"Well, either way, take these as my thank you," he said as he pulled out two Pokéballs, but they both had a blue top with red protrusions at the top. "These are Great Balls, they have a better catch rate than normal Pokéballs, so they should be very helpful to you in your travels."

"Oh, wow, thank you sir," May said.

"It's the least I can do," he said before falling silent briefly. Then his eyes went wide. "Shit, they said that they were going after something in Rustboro. It's a crisis." With that, the businessman left in a full sprint going north.

"Oh boy, something tells me that we haven't seen the last of those Team Aqua thugs," Brendan said.

"What makes you say that?" May said.

"You know about Team Rocket, right?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah, they're a criminal organization from the Kanto and Johto regions. Weren't they just forced to disband by that new Indigo League champion, Red?"

"Yes, exactly," Brendan said. "The story is pretty famous in Johto now. Apparently, Red stopped Team Rocket in Mt. Moon as they were trying to poach Pokémon and steal fossils, and after that one time, he was practically dragged into a practical war against them until he caused them to disband."

"So, what does that story have to do with us?" May asked.

"Well, we just stopped a Team Aqua assault, the same situation might easily apply to us now," Brendan said.

"Let's hope that's not the case for us," May said. "Now come on, I want to get to Rustboro soon."

"I hate to break it to you, but it's a bit late. We may need to camp in the forest tonight," Brendan said.

"Well, I can't cook," May said. "But I can easily pitch a tent and start a fire."

 _Yeah, and I'm no chef either,_ Gwen said.

"Well, you're in luck. I learned how to cook when I was eleven, and I've only gotten better with time," Brendan said.

"Do you happen to have any cooking materials with you?"

"I brought a wok and a ladle. As for food, I have a myriad of berries and spices from the Petalburg Market."

 _Well, I guess a berry stew could work. Were you thinking sweet, savory, or spicy?_ Gwen asked.

"I was going to go for a mildly spicy combination. How about a mixture of Oran, Pecha, Cheri, and a light amount of Tamato Berry?"

"That sounds pretty good," May said. "I can get the fire started, then put up the tent while you begin prepare the meal."

"Sounds good," Brendan said as he set down his bag and took out his wok and ladle as well as a small knife and a bag of berries.

 _I'll get us some firewood!_ Gwen said. An instant later, a pile of twigs, leaves, and split logs appeared out of nowhere.

"W-where did you get all this?" Brendan asked.

 _We're in a forest, I just picked out what was on the ground,_ Gwen said with an innocent look.

"Alright, if you say so," Brendan said. "Gwen, can you stay with May while I fetch some water?"

 _Of course! I really could use some more girl time today_ , Gwen said as she leapt down from his shoulders. _Hey May, need some help?_

"Yes, as a matter of fact," May said as she placed rocks around a pile of logs and kindling. "Can you please set up the tent for me?"

 _No problem_. Gwen's red horns began to glow a light blue as the nylon and poles levitated into place with little to no effort. Then the stakes were thrown into the ground, keeping the tent in place. _Done!_

"Thanks a lot Gwen, you're such a big help," May said with a smile as the fire lit began to blaze to life.

"Hey! Looks like you have both been busy," Brendan said as he returned with his wok partially filled with clean water.

"Oh we have, you ready to get cooking?" May asked.

 _He'd better be, I'm getting hungry!_ Gwen said.

"I'm about to start," Brendan said as he sat down to cut the berries and mix them into the wok. He cut up three Oran, Cheri, and Pecha berries each, then about half of a Tamato Berry before putting the wok over the flames and letting it simmer and cook. As the meal was cooked, Brendan mixed in spices and stirred the soup, which began to smell absolutely amazing.

 _Brendan, come on! I can't take the smell anymore!_ Gwen said. _Is it ready yet?_

"Just about," Brendan said as he pulled out multiple bowls and spoons from his bag. He filled the bowls with the soup and passed two of them to May and Gwen, then he let out Clint and Nikki and gave them each their own bowl. May followed suit, letting out Lily, Graham, and Miranda, and gave them some of the soup. "I hope it turned out well."

May was the first to taste Brendan's meal and she was astounded. It was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, and there was even a hint of cinnamon. "This is really good," she said. "I can't wait to taste your other recipes."

Brendan smiled. "Thanks, it's great getting compliments on my cooking," he said.

Gwen tried it next and just shrugged. _Eh, I've had better._ She said with a devious look on her face.

"So you love it, and you just want to mess with me, is that about right?" Brendan asked.

 _Damn it, you already know me too well,_ Gwen said with a slight giggle. _But seriously, I'm glad you're my trainer, and your cooking is about ninety percent of the reason why._

"Thanks Gwen," Brendan said as he ate his soup. They sat around the fire for a few hours, eating their fill and sharing fond memories. After their meal and the clean-up, which involved Graham using Water Gun to clean the wok and bowls, the two trainers had all their Pokémon except Gwen return to their Pokéballs and began preparing for bed.

"Alright, Brendan, do you mind changing first, so I don't have to stand in the cold after I change?"

Brendan smiled. "Sure," he said as he got into the tent, Gwen staying by the fire, almost falling asleep, but forcing herself to stay awake a bit longer. Within minutes, Brendan emerged from the tent wearing a simple t-shirt and athletic shorts, with his hat off.

"Huh, you know, I don't think I have ever actually seen you without your hat on," May said, a look of…well we'll just call it interest…on her face. She walked past and ran her fingers through his hair. "I like it." With that, she zipped up the tent and began disrobing and getting into her concert t-shirt and her short shorts.

 _She likes you, by the way_ , Gwen said.

"Thanks Gwen, but I kind of figured that out already," Brendan said quietly.

 _Well, ask her out!_

"I'll do it before we get to Rustboro."

 _I'm holding you to that._

"Fine, but don't mention this to May. I want to surprise her."

"Hey Brendan, you're okay to come into the tent!" May said.

"Alright," Brendan said as he unzipped the tent flap and entered with Gwen on his shoulder. May sat on her sleeping bag with her knees pulled up to her chest, and she looked happy. Brendan laid down on his side on his sleeping bag while Gwen leapt to the space between the two trainers.

"So, May, I have a question for you," Brendan said.

"What's up?" May said.

"Are you really a fan of the Chandelures?"

"Yeah, they're my favorite band. I actually was sitting in the front row at the concert that I got this shirt at."

"Sweet, I've never had the chance to go to any of their concerts. They are actually going to be in Goldenrod in about five months, and had I not moved here, I definitely would have been there."

"I actually went to their Slateport concert three months ago. I can tell you that it was incredible."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. Maybe we can go to one of their concerts together while we're on our journey."

"Either that, or we can do it once we finish our journeys as a way to celebrate our accomplishments."

Brendan smiled. "I like your idea better," he said. "What do you think, Gwen?"

 _Well, I have never even heard of the Chandelures, but I'd be willing to go with you both._

"Great to hear," May said with a smile. She then crawled into her sleeping bag and laid down on her back. "Now I have a question for you, Brendan."

"Hit me," Brendan said.

"Have you ever dated anybody?"

Brendan was caught off guard by the suddenness of the question. "Well, I wasn't expecting that question so quickly after we met," he said with a slight chuckle. "No, I never dated anybody. The only girl I could even consider anything close to a girlfriend was a girl named Lyra from Cherrygrove City, and that wasn't much more than a high school crush. Besides, she had eyes for the shadiest kid in the school, his name was Silver," he said.

"I see, but how was that Silver kid shady?" May asked.

"Nobody could really prove anything, but the rumor was that his father is Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket."

"Wow, that sucks for him."

"I don't think so; he was a complete jackass too. He always talked about how 'weak' Pokémon were worthless. On top of that, he would always pick on my younger cousin, Ethan."

"What a prick."

"Yeah, but Silver dropped out of school a while ago, and Ethan is doing really well. He just started high school, and he's already got a girlfriend named Kris."

"Well, I think Ethan will do really well for himself when he starts his journey."

"Yeah he should," Brendan said with a smile. "Anyway, what about you; have you ever dated anybody?"

"No, there hasn't been anybody I've really seen that way," she said. _Until now, but I think I've been throwing you strong enough signals to make that obvious_.

"So it looks like we've both been single all our lives."

"Yeah, that unfortunately seems to be the case."

"Alright, then I propose a pact. Let's both agree to be dating somebody before this journey is over," Brendan said.

 _Need my help with your plan_ , Gwen asked Brendan, excluding May from this conversation.

 _Sure, but nothing too weird,_ Brendan said back.

 _I hear you loud and clear._

"I think that's a great idea," May said as she extended her hand toward Brendan. "Want to shake on it?"

Brendan gave May a gentle, but firm handshake and a smile. "It's an agreement."

"Well, I am going to get some sleep, so goodnight. I will see you two in the morning," May said.

"Alright, goodnight to both of you," Brendan said.

 _Good night_ , Gwen said.

The next morning, Brendan began to stir awake, but he was stopped by the fact that his arm was wrapped around what felt like another sleeping bag. Given that there was only one other sleeping bag in the tent, he didn't need to be a genius to figure out who his arm was draped over. On top of that, he was in a spooning position with May. _Gwen, what did you do?_

 _Oh, hey you're awake. Well, I just moved your bodies together once you were both sound asleep._

 _Why did you put us in this particular position?_

 _I put you two into multiple positions, and that was the one that caused both of you to be happier. Plus, it's a position that can cause increased affections between the people involved._

 _You'd better be right about this._ Brendan said as he began to roll onto his side, but he was stopped when May's hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said.

"Uh, I was, uh, just about to wake up," Brendan replied.

"Nope, that's not allowed until I say so. So stay right where you are."

Brendan was blushing wildly. "Wow, so you're okay with this?"

"Yes, I am very okay with it. You know, you weren't really good at hiding the fact that you like me as more than just a friend."

"I was that obvious?" Brendan said.

"That, and Gwen has been feeding me information," May said.

 _Way to rat me out, May!_

"He was going to find out eventually, besides, I'd rather not lie to him," May said.

 _Fine, but it's still not cool._

"So, I guess this means that the feeling is mutual. So, what does this make us now?"

May rolled over so she was face-to-face with Brendan. "Maybe this will answer your question," she said as she leaned in and softly kissed Brendan on the lips.

When they broke contact, Brendan knew the answer. "So, we're dating now. Deep down, I knew that moving to Hoenn would be the greatest thing that ever happened to me."

"And it seems that our pact last night is already fulfilled," May said. "That was quick."

"So, are you ready to start the day and get to Rustboro?" Brendan asked.

"I think so, but I may need something to get me moving," May replied. The two trainers left their sleeping bags and prepared for the day.

Gwen walked out of the tent and she picked a fresh Pecha Berry from a nearby tree and sat to enjoy her breakfast. _Getting two people to start down a beautiful path of love: all in a day's work for the great Gwen!_


	10. The Evolution of Battle

**Hey everybody, before I start, I'd like to give a shout out to two people:**

 **\- rylek196 for helping me sort out difficult details of this story multiple times.**

 **\- QUEENSPELLER67 for catching a glaring mistake two chapters ago (** _ **Meeting New Friends**_ **), where I wrote "Ash" instead of "Brendan."**

 **Both of these two have written some great stories, so check out their profiles and read some of their works.**

 **One more thing, I know that the rival battle in Rustboro comes after beating Team Aqua in Rusturf Tunnel, but I decided to put it on a fast forward. Enjoy.**

 **Now, without further ado, here is the tenth chapter of** _ **Brendan's Journey**_

 _The Evolution of Battle_

Brendan and May left their campsite, leaving only a burned patch where their campfire had been. This time, however, they were walking hand-in-hand as they went through the remainder of Petalburg Woods. Luckily this went without a hitch, and they got to the other side of Route 104. This part of the route was really serene in Brendan's opinion. There was a large lake, and a bridge extending across it. Closer to them was a building with a greenhouse in the back.

"Hey, it's the Pretty Petal Shop," May said.

"A florist shop?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah, and they are really good at what they do. It's run by identical triplet sisters, and they all have their specialty with floral design."

"Want to go in?"

 _Absolutely!_ Gwen said.

"Alright, let's go," Brendan said cheerfully as they walked toward the shop. They entered through the front door, and they saw three young, identical women. They were all brunettes with fair skin, and they all wore different colored aprons over khaki capris and dark green t-shirts. From left to right, they wore red, blue, and green aprons.

"Oh, hello, how may we help you today?" the woman in the red apron, whose nametag said Emily, said.

"We were just passing through and we both decided to see the shop," May said.

"Oh, is this your first time here?" said the green aproned woman, whose nametag identified her as Trinity.

"Well, I came here a few times with my mother when I was a little girl," May said. "But Brendan here has barely been anywhere in the Hoenn region yet."

"Oh yeah, I remember you, you're May Birch! So you're traveling with a boy now?" said the third, blue apron wearing woman, whose nametag read Jennifer.

 _And me too!_ Gwen said.

"Oh, you're such a cute Ralts!" Trinity said. "I think I have a flower here for you that will make you look even more adorable." She went to the display case and took out a single stargazer lily and brought the bloom to Gwen and put it in her hair, behind her ear.

"Aww, that is so pretty!" Jennifer said.

Gwen started blushing at the compliment.

"Hey, Brendan, I'm going to take a look around," May said as she walked around the shop.

"Alright, Gwen and I will be here," Brendan said. He went to the counter while May wandered the shop admiring the multitude of bouquets.

"So, Brendan was your name, right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Brendan said.

"That's a really nice name," Jennifer said. "Just like May's"

"Well thank you," Brendan said, leaning against the counter with his elbows casually.

"So, how long ago did you and May start dating?" Trinity asked.

"How could you tell that we are dating?" Brendan said in shock.

"You both have that look in your eyes that just screams 'We are a new couple, so be jealous!'" Trinity said with a charming smile.

"Actually, it was just this morning that we made it official," Brendan said.

"And how did you ask her?" Jennifer asked.

 _Actually it was mostly my doing,_ Gwen said.

"And it was kind of a personal story too," Brendan said. "No offense, but I'm not sure if I want to tell people who I just met a few minutes ago."

"Alright, we won't pry," Trinity said quietly. "But you should give her a tulip. They symbolize perfect love."

"Really? Well, I think I'll do that. How much is it for a single tulip?"

"For this, it's free," Jennifer said with a wink. "As is that stargazer lily."

"Wow, thank you," Brendan said. With that, he walked up to the tulip selections and picked out a fresh, beautiful red tulip. He then walked over to where May was browsing and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned to Brendan, he held out the tulip. "For you," he said.

May took on a cute, light blush at the gesture. "Brendan, it's beautiful, thank you," she said as she kissed his cheek. "And tulips are my favorite flowers."

"You're welcome," Brendan said. He pulled May into a tight embrace.

Trinity, Jennifer, and Emily all watched the exchange, smiling the whole time. "They make a really cute couple, don't they?" Emily said.

"Absolutely," Jennifer said.

"I hope it lasts. All too often people who are perfect for each other lose sight of their love for each other and the relationship goes south," Trinity said.

"I know, I remember when Steven Stone was dating Clair from Johto. He would always come here for flowers before his big dates, and then they broke up because the stress of a long distance relationship got the better of them," Emily said.

"I remember that, the last bouquet of flowers he got for her was out of apology over the fact that they couldn't make it work," Jennifer said. "It was so sad."

Brendan and May, however, didn't hear a word of what the triplets said. They were too happy to care what others said.

Ten minutes later, Brendan and May had left the shop, May's tulip safely tucked into one of her belt loops. "Well, that was a great stop," Brendan said as they began to cross the bridge toward the massive city.

"Absolutely," May said. "Now, we need to pick a fun spot for our next date."

"Well, if Rustboro City is anything like Goldenrod, then there should be some tourist attractions there," Brendan said.

 _I hear that Rustboro is home to the Pokémon Trainer's school, maybe you can go check that place out,_ Gwen said.

"Eh maybe," Brendan said. "Maybe we will be asked to demonstrate a battle or something like that."

"That would be fun, especially since I'd definitely win," May said, a competitive look in her eyes.

 _Dream on May!_ Gwen said with just as much fire in her eyes.

"Yeah, we'd win that battle for sure," Brendan said.

"My team has more advantages over yours, so I wouldn't be so sure about that," May said.

"You want to test that when we get to Rustboro?" Brendan asked as a blaze began to burn in his eyes too.

"Well, then that won't be too long now, since we are about five minutes away from the entrance to the city," May said.

"Perfect, even though we're dating now, I'm not holding anything back," Brendan said.

"You're damn right you're not," May said.

 _Yeah, Brendan, you'd better not hold anything back. If you do, I'm the one who takes the heat, sometimes literally,_ Gwen said. As she said that, they got to the entrance to Rustboro City.

"Alright, let's do this!" May said as she moved an appropriate distance from Brendan and pulled out her first Pokéball, throwing into the air. "Graham, come on out. It's time for a battle!" The seagull appeared from his Pokéball, and although he didn't like battling, he still looked ready to fight.

"Is this going to be a three-on-three?" Brendan asked.

"Yep," May said with a smile.

"Alright, then let's go, Nikki!" Brendan said as he let out the sloth Pokémon. She looked a bit lethargic, but that was typical for her.

"HOLD ON!" came an excited woman's voice. Brendan turned and saw a girl about their age in a black dress that looked like it belonged on a teacher running toward them. "DON"T START YET!"

"Who are you, and why shouldn't we start yet?" Brendan asked.

"My name is Roxanne, the Rustboro City Gym Leader, and a teacher at the Trainer's School. I've been hoping to find some passing trainers who would be interested in giving my students a demonstration battle," the woman said.

"Wow, we were just saying that it would be interesting to battle for a class," Brendan said.

"Yeah, this is awfully convenient," May said.

 _Yeah, almost as if some amateur writer is making this stuff up to give easy plot devices to make his story more interesting,_ Gwen said.

"Gwen, don't be crazy," Brendan said quietly so only Gwen could hear. "There is no way that's true."

"Well, what do you say?" Roxanne asked.

"Sure, that works for us," Brendan said as he had Nikki return to her Pokéball. "Hey, Nikki, sorry for the early call, we'll be battling for real later today."

"Same to you Graham," May said as she had the seagull return to his Pokéball. "Alright, lead the way to the school."

"Perfect, let's go!" Roxanne said as she led the duo to a large building with a clock tower. "Now, allow me to welcome you to Hoenn Pokémon Trainer Academy. This is widely considered the most prestigious trainer school in the region, and it is among the top ten in the world."

"Wow, that's quite the accomplishment," Brendan said. "I graduated from Goldenrod City Trainer Academy."

"So, you're from Johto. That's interesting, might I ask why you came to Hoenn?" Roxanne asked.

"My dad is Norman the Gym Leader of Petalburg City," Brendan said.

"You're the son of a Gym Leader," Roxanne said. "How… interesting." They then entered an office, where Roxanne exchanged a few words with a secretary, who then handed her a PA microphone. "Attention all staff and students please make your way to the outdoor battlefields. We have a surprise for everybody," she said into the microphone. She then put it onto the desk. "Now, please follow me to the battlefield."

So, Brendan and May followed Roxanne to the backyard of the school and found an amazing battlefield which had stands surrounding it. As the two trainers got into their positions on each side of the field, the students began to fill in the stands. Once most everybody had found seats, Roxanne began to speak.

"Welcome students, today we are proud to present you with a demonstration Pokémon battle," she said. This got the students excitedly murmuring. "I want you all to pay close attention to how they battle, because a battle can teach you more about how to be a trainer than any of your professors can, provided that you pay close attention. This is a best of three battle with no time limit. They will have three rounds of one-on-one, and they will both switch Pokémon between rounds. Now, are the trainers ready?" Both Brendan and May nodded as they grabbed Nikki's and Graham's Pokéballs and threw them out.

"Alright, this is for real now, go Nikki!" Brendan said. The sloth appeared

"You're up, Graham!" May said as well.

"Alright, now begin the battle!" Roxanne said.

"Nikki, use Yawn!" Brendan said. Nikki yawned loudly, causing Graham to yawn as well.

"Graham, use Water Gun!" May said. Graham unleashed a jet of water at Nikki.

"Dodge it and use Scratch!" Brendan said. Nikki rolled around to the side on the ground, dodging the incoming water before she stood up and sprinted at Graham, her arm raised and ready to attack.

"Fly up and use Supersonic!" May called. Graham leapt into the air, dodging Nikki's attack, and cried out at an impossibly high-pitch. Nikki heard it loud and clear, and that caused her to become disoriented and confused. At the same time, Graham fell to the ground, fast asleep.

"Nikki, if you can hear me, use Scratch!" Brendan said. Nikki seemed to hear him, since she began to run toward Graham, but halfway there, she tripped and face-planted. "Nikki, come on, I know you can do it, you need to get up!" Nikki struggled to her feet and continued her attack. This time, she managed to land a strong hit, sending Graham rolling toward May.

"Graham, I need you to wake up!" May said. Unfortunately for May, Graham was unable awaken. In fact, it only got worse for her. Nikki's attack had apparently been a critical hit, because Graham was not asleep anymore. Now he was knocked out cold.

"Graham is unable to continue. Nikki and Brendan win this round," Roxanne said.

"Nikki/Graham return!" both Brendan and May said simultaneously.

"Well, Brendan, you've improved since our battle on Route 103, that's for sure," May said.

"Thanks, now, how about a battle between Clint and Miranda?" Brendan said.

"I like it," May said as she pulled out Miranda's Pokéball. "Come on out Miranda!" she called as her Torchic out.

"Come on out Clint!" Brendan called as his Treecko came out of his Pokéball.

"Alright, Treecko vs. Torchic, begin the round!" Roxanne said.

"Clint, use Bullet Seed!" Brendan said. This was a move that they had been working on during their training sessions, and it was almost perfect. Clint began to spit seeds covered with green energy at Miranda.

"Miranda, counter that with Ember!" May called out. Miranda began to spit out a stream of flames at Clint. The two attacks collided, canceling each other out.  
"Clint, get close and use Pound!" Brendan called out.

"Miranda, counter with Peck!" May said.

Clint and Miranda closed the distance between each other quickly, and they began to battle fiercely. Clint swung his tail with immense strength only to take an equally strong Peck attack in response. This exchange went back and forth for nearly five minutes. They hit each other hard at the same time and they flew back a few feet. They landed, but fell to one knee from exhaustion.

"Clint, you can keep going, I know it!" Brendan asked.

"Miranda, I know you can continue!" May said. "I believe in you!"

As if they were responding to their trainers' spirits, Clint and Miranda looked at each other with incredible determination before they both began to glow white at the same time.

"No way," Brendan said in disbelief. "They're both evolving?"

"Miranda, this is awesome!" May said excitedly.

The two Pokémon grew and changed their body shapes quickly before the glow vanished, revealing the newly evolved Combusken and Grovyle. "May, this round is only just beginning!" Brendan said confidently.

"Oh I know. Miranda, use Double Kick!" May commanded. Miranda began to sprint across the field, showing that she had become much faster.

But she wasn't even close to Clint's speed. "Clint, dodge and use Quick Attack!" Clint leapt to the side just as Miranda flew by with her right foot raised. He landed about five yards from Miranda before he leapt back with a white streak of light behind him. Clint slammed into Miranda hard, but as she was flying away, her left leg whipped around in a reverse roundhouse, the talon on the back of her foot hitting Clint on the cheek. Both Pokémon slid across the ground, still standing strong.

"Alright Miranda, use Ember!" May called.

"Clint, don't let up, keep using Quick Attacks!" Brendan said. Clint kept running around the field, dodging the incoming streams of flames by doing acrobatic backflips and rolling around on the ground. He closed the distance and lowered his shoulder for the hit. May and Miranda had other plans.

"Miranda, use Peck as fast as you can!" May called out. Miranda's beak began to glow and extend as she pecked forward at Clint. Both attacks hit simultaneously, Clint getting pecked on the face and Miranda taking a body check. Both tumbled to the ground, and managed to struggle to their feet. Unfortunately, Clint had taken one too many super-effective attacks, and he collapsed shortly after.

"Clint is unable to battle, so Miranda and May win the round. This next round will break the tie!" Roxanne said.

"Clint, come back," Brendan said as he recalled his newly evolved Pokémon. "That was an amazing battle. Get some rest, because they won't win next time."

"Miranda, thank you for such a great battle, now take a good rest," May said as she recalled her Combusken.

"Now, it's time for the final round," Roxanne said.

"Gwen, you ready? It seems that you'll be facing Lily," Brendan said.

 _You know I'm always ready. Besides, I can't let Clint and Miranda be the highlight round of this battle,_ Gwen said. She then took the lily out of her hair and handed it to Brendan. _Just hold this for me; I don't want it to be destroyed._

"Well, let's win this with style," Brendan said.

 _Sounds good,_ Gwen said with a smile.

"Alright, Gwen, I'm counting on you!"

 _As if you had any other choice,_ Gwen said with a giggle.

"Lily, it's time to win this battle!" May said as she let out her Beautifly.

"Alright, begin the final round!" Roxanne said.

"Gwen, start this with Confusion!" Brendan said. Gwen's horns and eyes began to glow a teal color as she extended her right hand up toward her opponent, and that glow soon covered Lily. Gwen then whipped her hand toward the ground, and Lily followed suit, slamming into the ground.

"Lily, respond to that with Gust!" May said. Lily flew back into the air and began to flap her wings rapidly, kicking up a whirlwind which pushed Gwen back several inches.

"Disarming Voice!" Brendan commanded.

 _You got it!_ Gwen said as she began to sing in a shrill voice that caused Lily to falter in her Gust attack, and she took damage from the attack.

"Now, use another Confusion!" Brendan commanded. Gwen's horns and eyes both began to glow teal as she gripped Lily and she threw her into the ground once more.

"Lily, use Poison Sting!" May said, hoping to play against Gwen's weakness to poison-types. Lily spat out a barb covered in purple slime that flew at Gwen quickly.

"Gwen, Teleport out of the way!" Brendan said. Gwen smiled and vanished quickly before reappearing behind Lily. "Now finish this with Confusion!" Gwen once again took hold of Lily with her telekinesis before throwing the Pokémon around in a vertical loop before slamming her into the ground hard. Where Lily landed was where she stayed. The battle was over.

"And that's it, Lily is unable to battle, therefore Gwen and Brendan have won the round. Brendan has won two of the three rounds so he is the winner," Roxanne said.

"Yeah, great job Gwen!" Brendan said as he ran onto the field and picked her up in a hug. "I knew you could do it!"

 _It was your strategic mind!_ Gwen said, trying to be modest.

"Yeah, but you pulled it off to perfection."

 _Well, if you say so._

"Lily, you fought really well. Now get some rest," May said as she had Lily return to her Pokéball. "Well, that was a great battle, but I will need to keep training to be able to beat you."

The students began to applaud the trainers for their battle and Roxanne walked to the center of the battlefield. "Thank you to both Brendan and May for that excellent battle," Roxanne announced. "Now, you may all head back to your classrooms. Then you guys can begin a class discussion over the subtleties of each round." This earned a groan of disapproval from the student body, but they left the stands and began to file back to their classrooms. When they were gone, Roxanne turned to Brendan and May. "So, Brendan, I take it that you are going to be challenging the Pokémon gyms. Am I right?" she asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Brendan said.

 _And then we are going to challenge and beat the Pokémon League._ Gwen said loudly, raising her left hand like she was making a victory cheer. Hearing Gwen speak caused Roxanne to jump a little. _Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you._

"No, it's not a problem, I just didn't expect to be meeting a talking Pokémon," Roxanne said. "Anyway, when do you want to challenge my gym?"

"Would tomorrow at noon work?" Brendan asked.

"Well, tomorrow is a Saturday, so that works just fine."

"Great, I look forward to our battle," Brendan said.

"As do I; and I am looking forward to seeing what you, Nikki, Clint, and Gwen can do in a gym battle. Now, I apologize but I must go and deal with some paperwork for the school," Roxanne said. With that, she left Brendan and May and re-entered the school.

"May, where do you want to go now? We could head to the Pokémon Center and get a room for the night, or we can explore the city some more," Brendan asked.

"Well, we should go to the Pokémon Center to treat our Pokémon after that battle. We can get a room and relax a little bit before enjoying the night life. What do you think?" May said as she pulled the still intact tulip from her belt loop.

"That's a great idea," Brendan said as Gwen clambered up onto his shoulder. She knew she would only fit in the spot for a little while longer, so she figured she would enjoy it while she still could.

 _That sounds like an awesome idea, so let's go!_ Gwen said. When she said that, Brendan and May both left the battlefield and began to walk toward the Pokémon Center. It was already gearing up to be a great evening, and Brendan couldn't wait to find out what the future had in store.

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, reviews are welcomed, so please let me know if there are places I can improve.**


	11. Some Rocky Battles

_Some Rocky Battles_

Gwen was more than enjoying her time with Brendan and May. They had been to a bowling alley, followed by dinner at a fun restaurant, and they finished the night with a stop at an incredible hard-serve ice cream shop which used Miltank milk to make their ice cream. Brendan got a vanilla cone, May got chocolate, and Gwen got mint chocolate chip, and they were some of the best ice cream cones any of them ever tasted. It was the perfect combination of sweet and creamy, and it wasn't too icy.

"This ice cream is phenomenal" Brendan said. "There is nothing like this in Goldenrod."

"Yeah, the food in Hoenn is really exquisite most of the time," May said. "But it has another purpose sometimes."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

May swiped her finger through a melting portion of her ice cream and then dabbed that finger on the tip of Brendan's nose. "It can make you look so pretty," she said.

"Oh you're asking for it now," Brendan said as he did the same thing to her. "There, now we're both equally pretty." After a few seconds, they both burst out laughing before wiping off their noses and making their way back to the Pokémon Center.

Gwen was just basking in the joy that radiated from both Brendan and May, and she couldn't help noticing that sensing emotions was becoming much easier for her. _You two were made for each other, I just know it,_ she said to herself quietly. _I can't wait to see where you two go together._ The group all arrived at the Pokémon Center and went to their room for the night. They all got comfortable and were soon asleep. Tomorrow would be a big day for both of them. They just didn't know how big of a day it was going to be.

Brendan woke up at nine the next morning to get some last minute training in before his gym battle with Roxanne. Currently, he was going through active stretching before with his team. Clint was still getting used to his new strength, but he was still clearly proud of his evolution. Gwen, however, seemed to look at Clint in what looked like jealousy. Brendan felt like he knew what was causing this, but he wasn't about to ask Gwen a question that would throw her off her game before the battle. May had woken up around ten in the morning and gotten ready for the day before going out to the practice fields to join Brendan.

"Hey Brendan, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Good Morning May. I'm doing great, and we are just about to finish preparing for the battle," Brendan said.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

 _No, he's working us like slaves!_ Gwen said with her eyes glistening like she was about to cry.

"Gwen, you know that's not true. You had three pancakes this morning," Brendan said.

Gwen just giggled. _Yeah, but I wanted a fourth, and you said no to me._

"Dear Arceus, you would have gotten sick if you ate a fourth."

May just giggled as she watched the comical exchange. "You guys are so cute," she said. "Anyway, we have about forty-five minutes before the gym battle. Are you ready?"

"Hell yeah, I'm completely ready," Brendan said. "What about you three?" Clint and Gwen both nodded in approval, but Nikki just gave a slightly blank stare and a smile. "I'll take Nikki's response as a yes."

"Then we should probably get going. It should take us a little while to get to the gym," May said.

"Sounds good; Clint and Nikki, return!" Brendan said as he called them back to their Pokéballs. "Gwen, come on up," he said as he lowered his arm for her to climb up to his shoulder. She smiled and climbed up to his shoulder, ready for the battle.

 _Let's go, I am so excited to win that badge!_ Gwen said.

They all began walking toward Roxanne's gym. The building stood out clearly since it had an orange roof and a very distinct shape. They walked for about half an hour before they arrived at the entrance to the gym. "Alright, it's time," Brendan said as he opened the doors.

"Welcome Brendan, are you ready for our battle?" Roxanne asked from across the gym.

"You better believe it!" Brendan said. "We are completely fired up!"

 _You know it!_ Gwen said with enthusiasm.

"By the way, do you mind if some of the school's more advanced students attend this battle?" Roxanne said as she gestured toward a group of kids with notepads and pens.

"Not at all," Brendan said. "It'll be fun."

"Then let us begin. This is a 2-on-2 battle." she said once Brendan set foot on his side of the battlefield. "Let's go, Ginny!" She threw out her Pokéball, which released a Geodude.

"Then you're up Clint!" Brendan said as he sent out Grovyle.

 _Brendan, I want the next round,_ Gwen said.

"Alright," Brendan said.

"Alright Brendan, you may have the first attack!" Roxanne said.

"Thank you Roxanne, but you'll soon regret letting me go first. Clint, use Bullet Seed!" Brendan said. Clint spat a stream of green-glowing seeds at Ginny, which struck and caused serious damage. Ginny rolled back, but she was not beaten yet.

"Ginny, use Rollout!" Roxanne said. Ginny pulled her arms in close to herself and began to roll across the floor, bearing down on Clint.

Alright Clint, use Dragonbreath!" Brendan called out. This was the first time he was using the attack in an official battle, and they needed to show the results of their training. Clint opened his mouth and let out a stream of electricity-laced dragon fire. The attack hit, but Ginny had already picked up a lot of speed. Despite a head-on hit, the Dragonbreath attack simply split apart and flew past Ginny, who proceeded to roll under Clint, throwing him into the air. Clint wouldn't be defeated that easily, and to prove it, he landed lightly on his feet. That was when Brendan saw something that made him grin confidently.

Ginny suddenly stopped rolling, electricity coursing through her and freezing her in place. "Great job Clint," Brendan said with a snap of his fingers. "Now, use Mega Drain!" Multiple streams of green energy spread from Clint and grabbed Ginny tightly. They then shifted to a more neon green as Ginny cried out in pain. Her health was being sapped rapidly from the attack, and Clint showed little sign of stopping. Ginny fainted and stopped crying out less than a minute later, so Clint stopped his attack.

"Ginny is unable to continue, Leader Roxanne, send out your last Pokémon," the referee said.

"Clint, come on back. You've earned a rest!" Brendan said as he had Clint return to his Pokéball. "Gwen, you're up!"

 _Alright! Don't worry about a thing!_ Gwen said as she teleported herself onto the field.

"So, you're going with Gwen. She is now quite famous in the school after your battle with May. Having said that, she will be facing an opponent she can't just throw around. Come on out, Chad!" Roxanne said as she let out a…blue stone with a red stone nose? "You look confused. Have you never seen a Nosepass before?"

"I admit, it's a new Pokémon to me," Brendan said. "It's probably very rare in the Johto region if it shows up at all."

"Well, regardless, let's finish this battle. Now, Chad, use Thunder Wave!" Roxanne said. The Nosepass's nose stone gathered lightning in a spherical shape before firing it at Gwen.

"Gwen use Teleport to dodge that!" Brendan said.

 _I know,_ Gwen said as she vanished as the paralyzing attack flew past where she had just stood, only to reappear behind Chad, her eyes glowing bright blue.

"Alright, now use Confusion!" Brendan said. Chad was shrouded in the blue glow and started to rise from the ground, but then Brendan saw Gwen's face. She was struggling to lift the Pokémon. He pulled out his Pokédex, scanned Nosepass, and his eyes went wide. No wonder Gwen was having trouble. Nosepass weighed over two-hundred pounds, something that Gwen had never even tried to lift before. "Gwen, drop him! Then use Disarming Voice!"

Gwen did as Brendan said, relief evident in her expression when she let the monolithic Pokémon drop to the ground. _Holy Distortion World that thing is heavy,_ Gwen said before crying out, creating sonic waves that flew at Chad.

"Chad, use Harden!" Roxanne said. Chad's body began to shimmer with a silver sheen just before Gwen's attack struck. The attacks were powerful, and since it was a special attack, Chad felt it at full force, sending him staggering back. "Now use Rock Tomb!" Nosepass threw four boulders at Gwen, which all fell around her and trapped her in place. Gwen's body took on a purple glow as her speed dropped. That could be trouble if the battle continued much longer. They needed to end this quickly.

"Gwen, throw those rocks back at Nosepass with Confusion!" Brendan called out.

 _I was about to do that!_ Gwen said with a sassy tone as her eyes began glowing blue and she threw the rocks directly back at the compass Pokémon, but she was slower than before, which could be problematic for the rest of the battle. Luckily, Chad was not a fast Pokémon, and he was hit by the incoming rocks, taking some damage from the attack.

"Chad, use Thunder Wave again!" Roxanne said. Chad gathered purple electricity before firing it at Gwen.

"Gwen, Teleport out of the way!" Brendan said. Gwen nodded as she vanished from where she was, only to reappear behind Chad. "Now, finish this with Disarming Voice!" Gwen shouted out with a sharp, high-pitched voice, which caused Chad to flinch as he took significant damage. He was thrown from his position, and toppled onto his side and fell into unconsciousness.

"Chad is unable to battle, Gwen wins the round, which means that Brendan wins the battle!" the referee said.

"Alright!" Brendan said as he ran out onto the battlefield, picked Gwen up and embraced his first Pokémon. "You were amazing out there!"

 _Well of course. Did you expect any less from me?_ Gwen said in a sly tone.

"No, I'm still complimenting you on your battling."

 _Still, I didn't evolve. It's so frustrating._

"Don't worry, that will come soon enough. Just be patient," Brendan said.

"That was a great battle," Roxanne said as she held out a bronze badge that looked like a disfigured diamond. "You two were so in-sync that it was shocking. This Stone Badge belongs to you now."

Brendan smiled as he took the gym badge from Roxanne. "Thank you for that battle. We certainly grew from the experience, and we will put that experience to good use in the future."

 _Yeah, and by that he means become the champion of Hoenn and his ace Pokémon!_ Gwen said enthusiastically.

Roxanne giggled. "Well, I wish both of you luck in that endeavor. If I may be of some more help on your road to greatness, please accept this TM34. It can be used to teach Rock Tomb an indefinite number of times.

"Wait, not just once? In Johto, TMs can only be used once," Brendan said.

"Yeah, the Unova region just recently created the technology to make TMs usable infinitely. Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's cool and really convenient," Brendan said.

"And there is one other gift that you get as the victor," May said as she grabbed Brendan's shoulder, turned him toward her and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

 _Oh come on. Couldn't you two wait until later?_ Gwen said with mock disgust.

May broke the kiss and looked at Gwen. "Nope, it had to happen now," she said with a slight giggle.

 _Well fine, you can keep going then,_ Gwen said with her arms crossed sarcastically.

"Well now you kind of ruined the mood," Brendan said.

 _Perfect! Mission accomplished!_

Brendan just rolled his eyes before turning back to Roxanne. "Any way, thank you so much for the battle. If you ever want a rematch, just contact me!" he said.

"I intend to, but only after you've collected more badges and I have redone my training. In the meantime, where were you planning to go for your next gym battle?" Roxanne asked.

"We haven't actually decided," Brendan said.

"Then if you'd like my suggestion, you should head to Dewford Town. It's an island resort, and it's where my good friend, Brawly, lives. He's the gym leader there, but he'll be a lot harder to beat than I was for this battle."

"Well, the island resort part alone is enticing, but pairing it with a gym battle is even better. Gwen, May, what do you two say?"

"I'd love to go to Dewford. The beaches there are beautiful and there's even a few caves there, we could catch more team members there.

 _You know I'm okay with it. I really love beaches!_ Gwen said with glee.

"Then it's settled, next stop Dewford. Thanks for everything Roxanne!" Brendan said as they turned to leave the gym.

"No problem, come back any time!" Roxanne said. Then Brendan and May exited the gym.

"Well that was a fun time," Brendan said.

"Yeah, but for some reason I've got this feeling that something is about to make this day interesting in a bad way," May said.

 _You're right. Look over there!_ Gwen said as she pointed toward the path leading to the biggest office building in the city, which the trio assumed belonged to Devon Corporation. What caught Brendan's and May's attention was the duo of Team Aqua members, the same duo that ambushed the Devon employee in Petalburg Woods. They were running away from the same employee who they ambushed earlier.

"WAIT! DON'T TAKE MY GOODS!" the employee said as he chased them to the north.

"Oh boy, looks like we need to help him again," Brendan said.

"It seems that way," May said as she grabbed Brendan's arm and pulled him with her, following the Devon employee. "Come on." They ran for nearly five minutes before arriving at a fork in the road, the one to the north leading to a series of dreadful, three-foot high, impassible ledges (countless physicists are still trying to find out why it was physically impossible to climb them). That left only one option: the path going to the east.

They went along the path to the east, where they ran into the employee they followed. As soon as they arrived behind him, the man turned around and got an elated look on his face. "Oh praise Arceus it's you two! Please help me, those thugs from earlier stole some very important machine parts from Devon. I lost them as they went onto Route 116."

"Sure, no problem," May said.

 _Well, it may be a slight problem, but he doesn't need to know that,_ Gwen said to only May and Brendan, earning a silent giggle from both of them.

"We will take care of it for you," Brendan said as they ran off to Route 116. Unfortunately, the various trainers on the route, including multiple youngsters, bug catchers, school children, and hikers, all seemed to want a battle, and none of them took "no" for an answer. That, however, probably proved to be much more helpful in the long run, as this gave both Brendan's and May's teams much needed experience before battling the thugs of Team Aqua. Luckily, most of those battles lasted for only one attack, which left their opponents in shock, but it also earned them some information on where Team Aqua went.

 _Alright, there is the tunnel up ahead. We should be able to catch those pricks in a few minutes._ Gwen said. _But, who is that old man in the sailor get-up?_ She was referring to a tall man wearing a blue and white striped shirt with a naval commander's hat and a pair of dark-washed jeans.

"Hey, that's Mr. Briney. He's retired now, but he used to be a legendary sea captain," May said.

"He looks concerned about something," Brendan said, noting the disconcerted look on the man's face as they got closer.

"Gaah those scoundrels. Both of 'em. They just assaulted me and took my beloved Peecko hostage," Mr. Briney said.

"Don't worry sir, we will get your Pokémon back from them," May said.

"Thank ye fair lass, and ye as well young lad," he said. As Brendan and May entered the cave, they heard Mr. Briney give an echoing shout of "WROOOARRR PEECKO!"

It didn't take long for Brendan and May to find the two grunts in the tunnel, having come to a dead end. "DON'T TELL ME THAT THE TUNNEL ISN'T COMPLETE! HOW ELSE CAN WE POSSIBLY FUCK UP THESE OPERATIONS ANYMORE?!" the woman said. "THE BOSS WILL HAVE OUR HEADS ON A PLATTER FOR THIS!"

"Just calm down, we can still get away. We just need a Pokémon that knows Rock Smash," the man said.

"I'M SORRY, DO YOU HAVE THE DYNAMO BADGE?!"

"No, I don't."

"Then Rock Smash is worthless outside of battle!" the woman said angrily.

"How does that make any sense? A Pokémon can use an attack at any time. It doesn't require a gym badge," the man retorted.

"Shut up, that logic doesn't apply here!" the woman said. Brendan, May, and Gwen looked at each other, all of their faces asking whether this was a bad comedy routine or if these two were serious. They looked back and saw two machine parts and a sad-looking Wingull in a small cage by the feet of the two grunts. The little Pokémon screeched softly when it saw the trio, and Gwen translated.

 _That Wingull is Peecko, and she is begging us for our help,_ she said with anger in her voice, directed at Team Aqua.

Brendan stepped forward, getting Team Aqua's attention. "Oh no, as if this day couldn't get any worse, now we have to deal with you two kids from before!" the woman said.

"Yeah, that's right. Now, hand over the machine parts and that Wingull and I will let you walk away. If you don't leave now, then I will not hesitate to take you both down!"

"And I'll be fighting right beside him," May said.

"You know what? You only beat us because of a fluke last time. Now you will lose to the great Team Aqua!" the woman said. "Let's go Danni!"

"I agree. Come on out Sal!" the man said. Both grunts sent out their Poochyenas, who looked stronger than the last battle in Petalburg Woods.

"Well then, Gwen, do you want this battle?" Brendan asked.

 _Yes. I need to put these two assholes in their place!_ Gwen said, which caused Brendan to smile at her confidence.

"Then I will use Miranda!" May said as she sent out her Combusken.

The two grunts initiated the battle. "Sal/Danni, use Tackle!" they both said. The two dogs began running at Miranda and Gwen with their heads lowered.

"Gwen, use Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. Gwen smirked.

 _Of course,_ she said as she shrieked at a high pitch. The sound hit both Sal and Danni, but Miranda was unaffected.

"Miranda, hit both of them with Double Kick!" May commanded. Miranda ran at the Poochyena and lashed out with two powerful kicks to each of the little dogs, sending them sprawling.

"Now, Gwen, use Disarming Voice one more time!" Brendan said. Gwen didn't need to be told twice, or once for that matter. She was already shrieking like she had been earlier by the time Brendan had given the command. Both Poochyena were thrown back by the force of the sound and were subsequently knocked out by the attack at the same time.

"Wow, that was easy," May said.

 _I guess these two really are just useless bitches,_ Gwen said with an angry tone. _I mean, what kind of sick bastards kidnap a Pokémon from their trainer?_

"You'd really hate Team Rocket in that case," Brendan said under his breath before speaking to the Aqua Grunts. "Now, hand over the machine parts and let that Wingull go. The police are probably on their way by now."

"You know, you're speaking to members of one of the only two mafias in Hoenn. You should know that we will not just let you off the hook just because our Pokémon are beaten," the man said as he drew a revolver from one of his pockets. He pulled back the hammer and aimed it at Brendan. The woman did the same thing, but she aimed at May. Both guns used .22 caliber bullets and they gleamed from a fresh polishing.

"Now, back away slowly if you know what's good for you, and let us through, or we will empty these guns into both of you," the woman said.

Gwen was wide-eyed. _No, I will not lose Brendan and May like I lost my mother_ , she thought.

"Recall your Pokémon, put your hands in the air where we can see them, and get up against the wall or we will fire," the man said. May called Miranda back, but Brendan did not do the same with Gwen. "Did you hear me? I said to recall your Pokémon!"

"Gwen hates being in her Pokéball, so no. I will not comply," Brendan said.

"Then you'll be six feet under in no time!" the male grunt replied aiming his gun at Brendan's head.

 _GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!_ Gwen shouted as she sent a wave of psychic energy, knocking the Aqua Grunts to the ground.

The man stood up with a groan and an angry look. "Forget you boy. I'll just shoot your Ralts and be done with it!" He leveled the gun at Gwen, only to be tackled by Brendan who began wrestling and fighting the man. The gun discharged, lodging a bullet in the cavern wall.

Gwen was beyond scared for Brendan now. If that fight continued much longer, he might get seriously hurt, or maybe killed. _Damn it. I won't lose you too!_ she shouted as loudly as she could as her body began to glow white and blue. The glowing caused everybody to stop moving and watch as she began to evolve. She grew by about a foot, and her dress turned into a ballerina's tutu. Her hair grew longer, turning into two strands that looked like wide pig-tails to the side, and her bangs took a triangular shape. Her two horns moved to the sides of her head, one on each side, and they grew longer, stretching from the front of her head to the back.

"Gwen?" Brendan said in amazement as the glow ceased, revealing a Kirlia where a Ralts once stood.

 _Alright, you Team Aqua grunts, I will give you until the count of three to drop the guns and leave this cave._ Gwen said, but her voice now sounded like that of a teenager. Despite her evolution, the two grunts didn't seem to be backing down. _Brendan, get off him, then you and May get behind me. I can't promise that I won't hit you by accident if you're so close to him._ Brendan did what she said, getting away from the grunt, grabbing May and pulling her with him behind Gwen. _Now, you two can get the hell out of this cave,_ she said as she threw both her hands forward and sent a wave of psychic energy at the grunts that, while neither Brendan nor May had psychic abilities, they could sense that it was far more powerful than anything she had ever produced as a Ralts. The force was so great that the duo of grunts were taken off their feet and thrown out of the cave completely.

"Gwen," Brendan said with amazement in his voice as he pulled out his Pokédex, and scanned her:

"Kirlia, the Emotion Pokémon. Kirlia uses the horns on its head to amplify its psychokinetic power. When the Pokémon uses its power, the air around it becomes distorted, creating mirages of nonexistent scenery. It is said that a Kirlia that is exposed to the positive emotions of its Trainer grows beautiful. This Pokémon controls psychokinetic powers with its highly developed brain."

 _YAY! I finally evolved!_ Gwen said joyfully as she leapt into Brendan's arms. Brendan caught her as a wide grin spread across his face.

"I'm so proud of you. That was awesome," Brendan said.

"Yeah, you were amazing Gwen!" May said as she joined in the embrace, hugging both Gwen and Brendan at the same time.

"Peecko, you're safe!" Mr. Briney called out as he entered the cave and approached the cage holding the Wingull, and opened the door. The little bird hopped out of the cage and onto Mr. Briney's shoulder as Mr. Briney turned to Brendan, May, and Gwen. "You young'in's saved me darlin' Peecko's life. I owe ye much to pay that debt. If you ever need a favor, come by my cabin on Route 104. It's right outside of Petalburg City and it's right by the ocean," he said.

"It was no trouble, but we may take you up on that offer soon," Brendan said. "By the way, my name is Brendan. These two are May and Gwen."

"Well Brendan, May, and Gwen, I thank all of you," Mr. Briney said. "Alright Peecko, let's go home." With that, the old sailor departed the cave, leaving the trio on their own.

 _Hey Goldenrod!_ Gwen said. _Where am I going to sit now? It will be really hard for me to stand on your shoulders now._

"Hmmm…I don't know. Would you be willing to walk?" Brendan asked.

 _I was afraid you'd say that,_ Gwen said with a slightly annoyed pouting expression. _But I guess walking will help get me stronger for the Hoenn League Championships._

"I like your attitude," May said as she picked up the two machine parts and handed one to Brendan. "Now, what do you say we return these to the Devon Corporation?"

"Sounds like a great plan," Brendan said. "Let's go!" They departed the cave and walked back to the city, excited to see what adventures awaited them next.

 **Hey, sorry this chapter took so long. My life was a shit storm of biblical proportions for the past few weeks, and I wanted to focus on the novel I have in the works.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, reviews are welcomed, just keep them polite.**

 **Thank you for all your support for my stories, and I hope you continue enjoying them.**

 **Next time is the trip to Dewford Town, and meeting Steven Stone. Until then, keep enjoying life.**


	12. The High Seas

**Before I get started with this next chapter, I would like to make something very clear. I have received a lot of PMs asking if this story will contain lemons, and frankly it's kind of annoying. There will not be lemons in this story unless it fits with the plot. So, those of you who keep asking can take your hands out of your pants and just enjoy the story.**

 **Alright, now that I got that off my chest, please enjoy, and leave a review telling me how I can improve.**

 _The High Seas_

Brendan was lost in thought as he walked with May and the newly evolved Gwen to return the machine parts to the Devon Corporation. This was the second time they had encountered Team Aqua, and this time, they had just had guns pointed at them by people who would not have lost any sleep over shooting them.

"Hey, Brendan, you doing okay? You've been really quiet since we left the tunnel," May asked.

Brendan took a deep breath. "Yeah," he said. "Just thinking about what just happened to us."

 _Brendan, I can tell you're not alright,_ Gwen said with concern.

"It's just a bad feeling that any more encounters with Team Aqua will only get more dangerous. And they said that there was another group like them in Hoenn. I get the feeling that we will be running into them again."

 _But by then, we will be a lot stronger by then._

"Yeah, we shouldn't worry too much right now. There's nothing we can do about them now, so worrying about it won't do us any good," May said. "All we can do is to continue training and if we run into them again, we stop their plans."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But we really do need to be careful. We really shouldn't be trying to piss off a mafia," Brendan said. May and Gwen just nodded their approval as they walked back onto the streets of Rustboro City, where they saw the Devon employee facing away from Route 116, and he was talking on his cell phone.

"Sir, I think that the goods will be fine. Those two trainers I told you about, the ones who helped me in the Petalburg Woods, went after Team Aqua. This incident shouldn't last much longer," he said as he turned around, seeing Brendan and May. "Actually, strike that, they've returned with the goods." He paused for a moment. "Understood sir, I'll tell them." He ended the call and smiled at the teenagers and Gwen. "It seems you met with success," he said.

"Yeah, it was pretty easy, to be honest," Brendan said, not wanting to tell him about what really happened.

"Well, no matter how easy it was, I have something to give you as my way of saying thanks," he said as he pulled out two Great Balls, handing one to each of the trainers. "And that's not the only reward you two are getting. For the other reward, though, you will need to follow me to Devon's building. Our president would like to meet you two."

"Wow, really?" May asked.

"Of course; you've helped the company twice without any real reason to do so," the man said.

 _We should go. This could be really interesting,_ Gwen said.

"Alright, lead the way," Brendan said.

They walked for about ten minutes, arriving at the Devon Corporation building, where security waved them in without question. Upon entering, Brendan and May were amazed at what they saw. The floor was made of granite tiles mostly, except for a glass panel over multiple fossils, as well as multiple display cases lining the walls, each one holding fossils from around the world.

"Wow, this place is very well designed," Brendan commented.

 _Yeah, Goldenrod is right,_ Gwen said, earning a slight glare from Brendan when she said the nickname. She merely stuck her tongue out in response.

"Yes, Mr. Stone and his son are both interested in fossils and rare stones. You won't find a bigger collection of fossils anywhere else, barring museums," the man said. "Even I haven't seen all of them, and I've worked here for nearly ten years now."

"That is impressive," May said.

"As much as I love giving people tours of this place, you're here to meet with Mr. Stone. Please follow me to the elevators. Otherwise you'll be walking up about fifty flights of stairs," the man said.

"You don't need to tell me twice," Brendan said, earning a giggle from May.

They all entered the elevator, where the employee hit a button and they ascended to the top floor. "I should let you know that Mr. Stone is a very friendly man, but he hates when people don't speak clearly," he said as they neared the top. "But you three should be just fine. Besides, the only thing he loves more than fossils are Pokémon." When he said that, the doors opened and they walked into what had to be the single biggest office Brendan, or May had ever seen. On the far side of the room was a red, mahogany desk with two computer monitors. There were multiple fossils in large display cases around the room. At the desk was a man who appeared to be around sixty years old with white hair styled in a slight star-shape, and he wore a dark suit.

"Ah, welcome to Devon Corporation young trainers. You two have helped Jerry here on two separate occasions, and you've saved vital parts of our company" the man said as he extended a hand, which Brendan and May shook in turn. "I am in your debt. You can call me Mr. Stone; I am the president of the company."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Stone," Brendan said. "I'm Brendan, and this is Gwen."

"And I'm May," May replied.

"Oh I know your names. You've become quite famous within this company," Mr. Stone said.

 _Wait, that man we helped out is named Jerry?_ Gwen asked, only speaking to Brendan and May. _I guess we should've asked earlier, but oh well._

"Unfortunately, I fear I must ask you two for a few favors. You've proven your competence as trainers, so to keep those goods safe, would you mind taking them to the shipyard in Slateport City?" Mr. Stone asked.

"Well, we will be going there after we go to Dewford, so it shouldn't be a problem. It won't be a problem to make that delivery. It may take a week, but we can get it there," Brendan said.

"Oh, you're heading to Dewford? While you're there, could you make another delivery for me? This one is a letter for my son, Steven," Mr. Stone said as he pulled out a white envelope, holding it out.

"We might as well," May said as she took the envelope. "It'll take a couple days to get to Dewford, and Brendan will likely train for a while before challenging the gym. So it will be no trouble."

"Thank you so much," Mr. Stone said. "You should know that I would never ask a favor without giving you some form of reward. So, I'd like you two to take these." He went to his desk, pushed a button and two devices that looked like cell phones, but more complex. "These are PokéNavs. They contain a Hoenn map, a Match Call feature that allows you to send rematch requests to any trainers you've already battled, it can connect to the internet and it can also be used to check on the conditions of Pokémon for contests."

"Wow, sounds expensive," May said with interest as she and Brendan took their PokéNav.

"Well, it's a small amount compared to the business deals you saved for us," Mr. Stone said with a smile.

 _Wow, that's a really cool piece of technology,_ Gwen said. _Brendan, may I see it?_

"Of course," Brendan said, handing the device to Gwen.

 _I like your gift, Mr. Stone!_ she said.

"Well, I'm glad it's to your liking," Mr. Stone said with a smile. "Now, before you two leave, I should warn you both that there is a gang war going on right now. It's between Team Aqua and Team Magma. Their objectives are unclear at the moment, but they seem concerned with the landscape of Hoenn. Please, be very careful, and go heal your Pokémon at the Pokémon Center before you go to Dewford."

"We will, and I promise that these deliveries will be made promptly," Brendan said.

"I trust that you will," Mr. Stone said. With that, May, Gwen and Brendan all walked to the elevator, and began their descent to the ground floor. Mr. Stone then walked over to his desk and pushed a button on the desk phone. The phone on the other end rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello?" said a young man who sounded like he was between twenty-five and thirty years old.

"Steven, it's your father. Listen, I need to ask you to go to Dewford Town in two days, and stay there for about a week. There are two new trainers heading there now, and they seem to have a lot of potential. I want you to meet them and help them when you can," Mr. Stone said.

"Oh, and what are their names?" Steven asked.

"Brendan and May are their names; Brendan has a Kirlia who walks beside him and she can talk through telepathy, her name is Gwen," Mr. Stone said.

"I think I can make time for that. Since Wallace took over as champion, I've had a lot of free time, so this will work perfectly for me," Steven said. "I'll let you know what I think once I've met them."

The next morning came, and it saw Brendan, May, and Gwen all eating breakfast in the Rustboro Pokémon Center. This time, Brendan had reluctantly allowed Gwen to have four Oran Berry pancakes with Pecha Berry syrup, which was met with a look of what could only be described as unbridled joy. Brendan and May had a more protein-filled breakfast. Brendan had a spinach, mushroom, ham, and cheese omelet, while May had scrambled eggs with a side of hash browns and pineapples, and both had a cup of coffee to drink. This was going to be their last meal in a Pokémon Center before they made their second trek through the Petalburg Woods.

"This is a really nice way to spend the morning, just relaxing with friends," May said in a contented voice.

 _I know, especially when you get an extra pancake to start the day!_ Gwen said happily as she cut and ate another piece.

"Yeah, it's a really good way to wake up and prepare for a long walk," Brendan said.

 _You know I could just teleport us to Mr. Briney's house, it will take us all of a few seconds,_ Gwen said.

"As nice as that sounds, it's probably not the best idea. It would mean taking shortcuts, and if we want to become the best in the world, we can't afford to take any shortcuts," Brendan said.

 _Aw, Goldenrod, you're no fun sometimes, you know that?_ Gwen said with a slight pouting smirk, which quickly disappeared when she continued to enjoy her pancakes.

"Well, let's finish eating and leave pretty soon so we can minimize the number of times we have to set a camp. I personally hope that we can get through the forest in less than two days, if that's possible," Brendan said.

Four hours later, they were walking along through Petalburg Woods. Gwen was skipping along merrily, doing graceful twirls in the air like a ballerina and just enjoying her time with her friends. _It's so nice out today! I hope the weather stays nice while we travel,_ she thought to herself. She was a few yards away from Brendan and May, but she wasn't in any trouble.

"You know, I've never actually gone sailing," Brendan said. "Have you?"

"Absolutely, I live in Hoenn. It's the region with an obscene amount of water. If you ever want to travel to the eastern parts of the region, you need to either ride on a Pokémon, or you take a boat," May said.

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing that on the map of the region. It's nearly fifty percent water, right?" Brendan asked.

"Something like that, I'm not entirely sure though," May said. "Some people describe the region as one big battle between the land and the sea."

"Seems a bit poetic," Brendan said as they passed the spot where they had camped a few nights ago. Luckily, they had a lot of time to keep moving before it got dark. Gwen kept skipping and dancing as they walked, feeling an incredible sense of freedom and bliss as they kept walking toward the exit near Petalburg City.

Sure enough, just two hours later, they had left the shade of the dense canopy of Petalburg Woods, and into the bright, afternoon sunlight. May raised her arms and stretched in the warming light. "Mmmm," she sighed. "It feels so good to finally be out of the shade."

Brendan smiled in response before wrapping his arm around May's waist, pulling her closer to him, earning a different type of smile. This one was more of content relaxation as she laid her head on Brendan's shoulder. They continued to walk to the cottage next to the beach with a dock and a boat that looked like a Wingull. They assumed that this was Mr. Briney's home.

Gwen was waiting on the front step of the cottage when the two trainers arrived, and she was pretending to be asleep. _Well, it took you two long enough to get here,_ she said.

"Oh hahaha, that's very funny Gwen," May said.

 _Yeah, I know it is. Now, let's go inside and get that ride to Dewford,_ Gwen said as she floated to her feet and went to the door. _Mind if I knock?_

"Go ahead," Brendan said. Gwen tapped on the door loudly.

"Be there in a moment!" Mr. Briney called from inside the house. In less than a minute, the sea captain opened the door. "Oh, it's good to see you two. What can I do fer ye?"

"Well, we were hoping to get a couple boat rides," Brendan said. "First to Dewford Island, then to Slateport City. We have a few deliveries to make for the Devon Corporation."

"I see, seems to me like you both have very busy lives," Mr. Briney said with a laugh. "But it'll be no problem at all. Since retiring, I've had a lot of time and not much to do besides sailing."

"Thank you very much sir," May said.

"Think nothing of it lass," Mr. Briney said before turning back into his house. "Let me grab the keys to the boat, some food fer the trip, and Peecko before we go. You can get in the boat over there and get comfortable. I'll only be a few moments." Gwen didn't waste a moment's time getting into the oddly designed watercraft, followed closely by Brendan and May. The deck was a textured surface for grip, and it was quite spacious.

"Oh, this will be perfect for getting a tan along the way!" May said.

"Yeah, and all the Pokémon will be able to move around if they need to," Brendan said.

 _Yeah, and the seats are really comfortable too,_ Gwen said from the bench that she was laying down on.

"Now then, seems everything's in order and yer all set to get moving," Mr. Briney said as he stepped into the boat with Peecko on his shoulders, couple bags of ready-made meals for the boat in one hand, and the keys in the other. He walked over to the steering block, started the ignition. "Boy, untie us from the dock!"

"No problem," Brendan said as he undid the slip knot holding the boat to the dock.

"Excellent, and we're on our way!" Mr. Briney said as the boat began to move away from the dock before racing across the waves, heading south. "We'll be on the water for about two days, give or take half a day depending on the weather. So relax, and enjoy yerselves."

 _We will sir, thank you!_ Gwen said with enthusiasm.

While they were driving, Brendan felt his phone vibrating and heard it ring from his pocket, so he pulled it out answering it. "Hello?"

"Hey Brendan, it's your father, I just heard from Roxanne that you won against her. Congrats!" Norman said.

"Thanks Dad, how is everything at the Petalburg Gym?" Brendan asked.

"Things are going smoothly. I haven't lost to a challenger yet. But enough about me, I called to see how everything is going with you."

"Well, for starters, both Clint and Gwen evolved, as did Miranda and Lily, and I caught a Slakoth named Nikki. We stopped a group called Team Aqua from robbing the Devon Corporation twice, and as a result, May and I are traveling with Mr. Briney to Dewford Town and Slateport City to make some deliveries for Mr. Stone."

Norman was silent for a short while, probably stunned, before talking. "Wow, you've had quite an experience. And it's no wonder why it's so windy where you are," he said. "And how are you and May getting along?"

"Oh, you could say that we're getting along much better than either of us anticipated," Brendan said with a smile. May heard him, giggling to herself about how Brendan subtly told Norman that they were dating.

"Well that's excellent. Remember that you still have a long way to go. Don't push yourself or your Pokémon too hard," Norman said in a fatherly tone.

"I won't Dad. Thanks for calling. Would you mind telling Mom how I'm doing?"

"No problem, Brendan," Norman said with a smile to himself. "Alright, I'll be seeing you when you get your fourth badge."

"See you then. Bye," Brendan said as he hung up. This was becoming a great day, and it was only about three in the afternoon.

Back in Petalburg, Norman chuckled to himself as he made another call. "Hey Norman, what's going on?" Professor Birch said as he answered.

"Hey Ed, you lost the bet," Norman said.

"What? Are you kidding me? Brendan and May are already dating?" the Professor said in disbelief.

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Brendan, and when I asked about how he and May were getting along, his tone of voice gave it away. Granted, he was trying to be subtle about it," Norman said with a chuckle.

"Damn it, there go 300 PokéDollars," the Professor said as Norman was left laughing triumphantly when they ended the call. It seemed that Hoenn was being very good to his family.

"And now Brendan is raising a Slakoth. Yeah, he's definitely becoming a chip off the old block," Norman said to himself.

 **Thank you for reading. Before you go, however, I do have a request for all of you. I am having Brendan go through a tournament Pokémon League before the Elite Four, but I would like some input for trainers he should face, aside from Wally. So, feel free to PM me with your ideas for an OC, and should I use yours then I'll give you a shout out in that character's chapter. If you choose to send an OC to me, include the character's:**

 **Name:**

 **Physical Appearance:**

 **Personality:**

 **Team and Ace Pokémon (Please limit legendaries, if any, and keep the teams balanced):**

 **Hometown (From any of the main games, or the Orre region):**

 **Battle Style:**

 **Backstory (if you want):**


	13. A Storm and A Dance

_A Storm and a Dance_

May laid out comfortably on a beach towel near the bow of the ship, sunbathing in a new white and sapphire-blue-striped bikini and a cute pair of sunglasses, something she knew Brendan liked when he saw her walk out of the cabin wearing it. Gwen was lying next to May on her own, slightly smaller towel, and they were both waiting for Brendan to come out of the cabin to join them.

"This is so relaxing," May said with a stretch.

 _I know. Even though I really can't tan, I love sitting in the sun like this._

"You can't tan?" May asked with intrigue.

 _No, all Pokémon lack the ability to get tan. I know it's weird. We have the ability to produce and withstand impossibly powerful attacks, yet we can't get tan._

"Seems a bit weird," May said.

"Hey, seems like you two are having a fun conversation," Brendan said as he came up to the bow. He had removed his hat, letting his messy brown hair show, and he wore a ruby red pair of swim trunks. What May noticed most was that he was clearly athletic, because his muscles were all very well defined. Not massive like a Machoke's, but impressive nonetheless, especially his six-pack abs and pecs.

"Hey handsome, and yeah, we were talking about something really interesting. Did you know that Pokémon can't get tan?" May said.

"No, I didn't. That's pretty interesting," Brendan said.

 _Yeah, it's a shame though. I think that I'd look really good with a tan,_ Gwen said.

"Well, you may not be able to tan, but I think I can get enough sun for the both of us," Brendan said.

 _Yeah, then you can really become Goldenrod_ , Gwen said with the most sass she could muster, earning a high-five from May.

"Haha, you're hilarious!" Brendan said as he laid out his towel and lied down next to May. "But I'm glad the weather is so nice right now. It's been a while since I got the chance to get sun."

Since Gwen wasn't between her and Brendan, May decided to lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek before returning to her back. "I think we should keep enjoying each other's company while we have some privacy," she said.

 _Ahem! Lovebirds! I'm still sitting over here!_ Gwen said in a mildly joking tone.

"Sorry Gwen, it was just one kiss," Brendan said.

"Yeah, and don't forget that you're the one who started this," May said to the Kirlia.

 _Okay, you got me there,_ Gwen said.

After that, they just sat and enjoyed the sun while the boat kept moving toward their destination. This lasted for a few hours, but then they felt the wind become cold, and the sun was covered with dark ominous clouds. "Ah damn it, looks like there's a storm coming," Brendan said.

"Aye, there be a storm approachin' fast. Ye three should get below the deck before it hits. Peecko and I will be in the cabin, so I can keep the boat away from and rocks," Mr. Briney said as he came to the bow.

"Yeah, we'll take your advice there," May said as she rolled up her towel, Brendan and Gwen following suit. They walked back into the cabin and down the staircase to get below deck, and not a moment too soon. As soon as they got into the cabin, which was very nicely furnished, the downpour began.

"Well that wasn't a moment too soon. Now, you three get yerselves comfortable down there, and don't worry about a thing. Peecko an' I have our share of rough weather," Mr. Briney said as the teenagers went below the deck.

Gwen leapt onto the top bunk on the right, above Brendan's side of the room. _Let's hope this boat can stay steady on a rough sea,_ she said.

"Motion sickness?" Brendan asked.

 _No, but I don't particularly like being thrown around like a ragdoll,_ Gwen said.

"I understand," Brendan said with a slight smile. He then felt the fabric of a bikini top pressing into his back as May hugged him from behind. "And what are you doing there, May?" he asked in a joking tone.

"Oh, I just wanted to warm up a little bit, and you looked really inviting," May said sweetly.

Brendan smiled, he grabbed her arms, pulled them apart and spun her around so they were facing each other. "I think we will both be warmer this way," Brendan said as he wrapped his left arm around May's back, and placed his right hand on her head, hugging her tightly.

May sighed happily as Brendan held her, enjoying how close she was with him. That was when Gwen decided to join in. _Hey, I'm cold too, so I'm joining in the hug,_ she said as she leapt from the bed and onto Brendan's back and began hugging her trainer and May.

"We should sit down in case the waves get rough," Brendan said.

"Why don't we just lie down on a bed? The storm looked pretty large, and I get the feeling we will be down here for the rest of the night," May asked as she kissed Brendan on the cheek. Brendan smiled at May, and the two walked over to the lowest bunk, where they both laid down. Brendan was on his back, his right arm wrapped around May's shoulder while she was laying facedown with both her head and her left hand resting on Brendan's right pec. Gwen decided to grab herself three blankets, and she climbed up to the bunk directly above Brendan and May, handing one blanket to the couple.

 _I'll be up here if you two need anything,_ Gwen said.

"Alright Gwen, if you fall asleep, then we won't wake you up," Brendan said as he covered both himself and May with the blanket.

 _Thanks Goldenrod, you're so sweet_ , Gwen said as she wrapped herself in two thick, soft white blankets, set her head on her pillow, and started to relax. The three sat and listened to the rain battering the roof of the boat as it came down steadily. The tapping rain eventually lulled them all into a peaceful sleep.

Brendan woke up slowly, feeling a familiar weight and warmth on his chest, and he smiled as he stroked May's hair lightly. She shifted her weight, rubbing the side of her face against his chest.

 _Oh, you're finally awake!_ Gwen said only to him.

 _Hey, do you know where we are and what time it is?_ Brendan replied.

 _It's time for you to get a watch,_ Gwen said, earning an eye-roll from Brendan. _It's about ten in the morning. And the good news is that the storm ended a couple hours ago. We're anchored within half a day of Dewford now. The storm gave us a really strong tailwind, so we gained a lot of time. Mr. Briney thought it best if he let us sleep here while he and Peecko slept on the couches in the cabin,_ Gwen said.

 _Wow, that was awfully kind of him,_ Brendan thought. That was when May began to wake up; her hand moving to her eye's rubbing it as she returned to consciousness.

"Hey, did we seriously sleep like this all night?" May asked.

"I think so. And I slept better than I ever have before," Brendan said.

"Same here. Your chest is really comfortable," May said.

 _You two are so cute. I'm going up to the deck to get some fresh air and some breakfast. See you up there soon,_ Gwen said as she left the cabin.

Brendan turned to May. "Well, I can go into the cabin and wait for you to get dressed, or we could do it the other way around. It's your choice."

"I think I'll go first," May said as she sat up, letting Brendan get up and walk into the cabin.

 _Hey, you're up already?_ Gwen said from the small card table as she took a bite of a Pecha berry.

"Yeah, May wanted to get changed into her normal clothes before we arrive in Dewford," Brendan said as he grabbed a small carton of orange juice and a pre-packaged blueberry muffin, joining Gwen at the table.

 _Mmm, and I suppose that you'll be doing the same when she's done,_ Gwen said as she took another bite of her Pecha Berry.

Brendan sat and ate, enjoying some time alone with Gwen while they talked about unimportant topics, but at the same time they made a world of difference. Since they had left from Littleroot, they'd had next to no time to without May nearby. Even though neither of them would dream of traveling without May, both Brendan and Gwen had to admit that this time was important to them. They enjoyed every second of their conversation, strengthening their bond as much more than just trainer and Pokémon; despite their banter, both Brendan and Gwen saw each other more as siblings, and it was getting stronger.

 _Hey Brendan, I've been wondering when Nikki is going to evolve,_ Gwen said.

"I'm not sure," Brendan said. "But it shouldn't be much longer."

 _That's good, she's going to be very strong when she evolves._

"Really?" Brendan said after eating the last of his muffin.

 _Yeah, you should check your Pokédex. It will show you what she evolves into_.

"Not a bad idea," Brendan said as he opened the Pokédex, searching for Slakoth. "Let's see; it says here that Slakoths evolve into Vigoroth, which then evolve into Slaking. It says that a Slaking is among the most powerful physical attackers in the Pokémon world. It even rivals Machamp in sheer power."

 _Yeah, and I have seen trainers with all three when I was exploring outside my village, and I once saw a Slaking punch an opponent once and it won with just that hit,_ Gwen said.

"Well damn, that sounds dangerously powerful," May said as she entered the cabin in her normal travel attire.

 _Oh, hey May! You look refreshed,_ Gwen said.

"I wish I could have had a shower, but it'll have to do until we get to Dewford," May said with a laugh as she grabbed a carton of orange juice and a banana nut muffin for her breakfast.

"You look beautiful, even without the shower," Brendan said, causing May to blush.

"Uhmm, thanks," was all that May could manage to say with her flushed state. "And you're good to get dressed."

Brendan stood up and went below deck, closing the door as he went. Meanwhile, May sat at the table with Gwen.

"I can't believe how much has changed in so little time," May said as she took a sip of the juice.

 _Yeah, neither can I. It's strange to think that about three weeks ago I was still wandering around on my own in the wild_ , Gwen said. _And now I have two of the best human friends a Pokémon could hope for, and I'm friends with five of the coolest Pokémon I've ever met._

May smiled. "And you've evolved too," she said. "And it was amazing how you did it to save Brendan and me."

 _Yeah, that too,_ Gwen said as she finished her Pecha Berry. _It just makes me wonder how much more is going to change as we go farther._

"I guess that only time will tell," May said as Brendan re-entered the cabin with his traveling outfit on.

"Ah, good, yer all awake," Mr. Briney said as he entered the cabin. "I was just about to continue our trip and get us to Dewford."

"Great to hear," Brendan said.

"And we should be arrivin' in around four hours," Mr. Briney said.

 _Sweet, I can't wait to get on that beach,_ Gwen said with a joyful smile.

"Aye, 'tis a thing o' beauty that island," Mr. Briney said as he went toward the steering block. "Ye won't be disappointed. Now, I'll start the boat, raise the anchor, and we'll be on our way." True to his word, Mr. Briney started the boat's engine, hit a button to raise the anchor, and began driving. "We should arrive in Dewford within four hours," Mr. Briney said.

The ride was cut short by less than an hour due to both a helpful tailwind and a slight current that propelled them toward their destination. When they rounded the final turn before Dewford's docks, Brendan and May could tell that it was a beautiful place. There were palm trees and more tropical fauna around a mixture of luxury hotels and simple huts made from palm leaves and wood. Then there were multiple t-shirt and surfing shops, with large umbrellas scattered around the shoreline.

"Well, that was a great trip," Brendan said with a smile as they pulled in to a dock and disembarked. "Thanks for your help Mr. Briney."

"Any time, m' boy," he said as he wrote something down and handed it to May. "Here's my number, call me when yer ready to go to Slateport."

"Thanks, we won't take too long," May said. "Three days at the most."

"Take yer time, this island is a good spot to relax and have fun," Mr. Briney said. "I'll see you later young'uns." With that, Gwen led the way from the docks, across the beach, to the Pokémon Center.

Along the way, they got a little lost, unfortunately, and they eventually decided to ask for directions. The nearest person they found was dressed in light clothing for the more tropical weather, and he wore sunglasses.

"Excuse me, sir," Brendan said, catching the man's attention, and causing his expression to brighten considerably.

"Why hello there! You're new around here," he said.

"Yes, we are, and w-" May said, only to be cut off.

"Well, have you heard about Feebas Victory? It's the most hip and happening thing around," he said.

Brendan and May just responded with blank stares. _What is this guy smoking?_ Gwen asked the two trainers, who just shrugged.

"Oh you haven't heard about Feebas Victory? You two must have been living under a rock your entire lives. Or is there something more hip and happening where you're from?" he asked.

"Uh, we don't know what you're talking about, we're just trying to find the Pokémon Center," May said.

"Oh, um it's about a two minute walk that way," the man said, pointing to the southern part of the island. "But if you don't know about Feebas Victory, what's the hippest, most happening thing where you're from?"

Brendan was drawing a blank and he could see this man wouldn't leave him alone until an answer was given. _Say something ridiculous like Epic Magikarp,_ Gwen said.

"Umm, I'd say that the most happening thing where I'm from is Epic Magikarp," Brendan said, knowing full well that it was just nonsense.

"Oh, uhhh, yeah, of course I've heard of Epic Magikarp. I mean come on, Epic Magikarp is easily the most hip and happening thing," the man said.

"You just said that Feebas Victory was the most hip and happening thing," May said.

"Come on, Feebas Victory is so five minutes ago," he replied as if that should be completely obvious. "Epic Magikarp is all the rage now."

"Okay, well, you have a good day," Brendan said as he led May and Gwen to the Pokémon Center before this guy's craziness began to make sense.

Thankfully, the man had been accurate with his directions to the Pokémon Center, since it only took two minutes to get there. When they got there, they saw that it was relatively empty other than the Chansey and Nurse Joy.

"Oh, hello there, welcome to Dewford Town," the Nurse said with a smile. "How may I help you both today?"

"We'd like to get a room for two people and one Pokémon," May replied cheerfully.

"Well, you're the only ones here right now, so I will give you our best room," the Nurse said as she gave two room keys to Brendan and May. "It's got three queen-sized beds, and the bathroom has both a shower and a bathtub."

"Wow, that's really nice of you," Brendan said.

"It's no problem at all, I just want to make your stay with us as enjoyable as possible," Joy said.

"Well thank you," May said.

"Your room is at the end of the hall on the left. Also, be sure to watch the sunset tonight. They are really beautiful on this island," Nurse Joy said.

"Thanks, we will enjoy the sights," Brendan said.

"Oh, and since this is a resort site, many of the visitors and residents have parties on nice nights. There is probably going to be one tonight if you two want to go," Nurse Joy said.

"Sounds like fun," May said.

 _I want to go too!_ Gwen said enthusiastically. _I love to party!_

"So I guess that's where we're going tonight," Brendan said as they went to their room. Gwen took Brendan's key and skipped down the hall toward the room. Brendan just shook his head and laughed as he followed his Pokémon, with May not far behind.

In two hours' time, Brendan and May were dressed in nicer clothes for a party. Brendan wore a purple short-sleeved, collared, button-down shirt with khaki shorts. May wore a short blue dress and some light makeup. Gwen just brushed her green hair to make it shine and look pretty. While it was unlikely that she would meet a male Kirlia here, well you never know what will happen at parties like this one.

"Alright, the sun's about to set, you two ready to head out?" Brendan asked.

"Yep, let's go," May said.

 _Then let's go,_ Gwen said. With that, they all left the room and began to walk toward the beach. The walk took only a few minutes before they could see the outdoor bar, and they could hear both the conversation and the music playing. The crowd was relatively small, but that was no problem. Brendan preferred smaller crowds, since it made it harder to lose his friends.

"Seems the party is already getting started," May said.

"Yeah, seems like it. Let's get in there," Brendan said.

May and Gwen didn't need to be told twice as they followed Brendan to the bar, and the tender looked up at them.

"What're you drinking?" he asked.

"I'll have a margarita," May said, knowing that the drinking age in Hoenn was eighteen.

"I'll have a rum and Coke. And the Kirlia will have Oran Berry Juice," Brendan said. The bartender checked their IDs, nodded, and mixed their drinks quickly.

"Here you are," the man said. Brendan paid for the drinks, and they joined the crowd.

The DJ was playing really good songs tonight, mostly modern music like dubstep and hip hop. While Brendan and May were dancing with Gwen between them, the night took a turn. A large and muscular guy, who looked about twenty years old, approached May.

"Hey baby, you know you should get yourself a real man," he said as he began to get closer to May, disregarding May's uncomfortable expression. "Let me show you what you're missing with this scrawny kid."

"Not interested. Please leave me alone," May said.

"Hey, don't be like that. I get it, my good looks are intimidating. Why don't I buy you a drink?"

Brendan stepped forward. "Hey, she asked you to leave her alone. Now leave her alone," he said.

"Get lost loser. This doesn't concern you," he said.

"It sure as hell does concern me, considering you're antagonizing my girlfriend," Brendan said.

The guy just laughed. "Yeah right; there's no way a punk like you could get a dime like her," he said.

 _Hey jerk, back off, she's not interested,_ Gwen said.

"Aw, and now a talking Kirlia thinks she has any power here," he laughed. By now, the scene was drawing attention from the crowd.

"BATTLE HIM!" said somebody in the crowd.

"That's not a bad idea," the twenty-year-old said, letting May run to Brendan's side. "I challenge you to a Pokémon Battle. If I win, you let me take the girl. You win, I'll leave!"

"May, are you okay with those terms?" Brendan asked. He would not agree to this if May didn't agree first.

"Put him in his place," May said. Brendan got a serious look in his eyes as he faced his opponent.

"What type of battle will this be?" Brendan asked.

"This is a one-on-one battle," the guy said.

That's when the DJ got on his microphone. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we have a battle on our hands. Lucky for everybody here, I'm a league certified referee, so this will be an official match, it's one-on-one, now let's get this started!" he said enthusiastically as he stepped out from his equipment set up. "This battle is going to be between the local battler, Tony, and a newcomer to Dewford." He held out the microphone to Brendan. "What's your name, man?"

"Brendan Maple," Brendan said.

"So it is Tony vs. Brendan. Both battlers, send out your Pokémon

"Come on out, Nate!" he said, sending out a Tentacool.

"Let's go Nikki!" Brendan said. The young Slakoth appeared, and she seemed very energized.

"Alright, it's a Slakoth against a Tentacool. Begin the battle!" the DJ said.

"Nikki, use Yawn," Brendan said calmly. Nikki yawned widely, sending a wave of energy at Nate. When it hit the Tentacool, the jellyfish Pokémon became drowsy quickly.

"Nate, use Poison Sting!" Tony said. The Tentacool spat out a single barb covered in purple sludge at Nikki.

"Roll to the left!" Brendan called out. Nikki did as she was told, casually rolling to the left as the toxic barb hit the sand. "Now Feint Attack!" Nikki then vanished from sight, only to reappear behind Tentacool and punch him in the back.

The reaction from Tentacool was lackluster, as he was already asleep. "Damn it Nate, wake up!" Of course, Nate was in dreamland so he couldn't hear Tony's calls.

"Nikki, use Scratch to finish this!" Brendan said. Nikki stood up and ran at the jellyfish Pokémon, slashing it across the face with both of her claws, sending it rolling. When it came to a rest, it was clear that Nate had been knocked out.

"And this battle is over. Brendan Maple is the winner!" the DJ said. "Now, unfortunately for Tony, it's time for him to hold up his end of the bargain and leave the bar for the night." With a string of curses, Tony reluctantly left the bar, not to be seen again that night, while the DJ went back to his equipment. That was when Gwen got an idea, so she followed the DJ, a music request in mind.

Once he left, Nikki began to give her own version of a victory shriek. As she was cheering, her body began to glow brightly. She grew until she was around 5' tall, her arms got longer and looked stronger than before. When the glowing ceased, a proud Vigoroth appeared in full.

"ALRIGHT NIKKI! I'm so proud of you," Brendan said as he hugged the sloth Pokémon.

"Vigoro!" she said in a deeper voice than before. She then tapped Brendan's Pokéball, and smiled as she returned to her capsule.

That was when Brendan was pulled around, only to receive a kiss from May. "Thanks for helping me out there," she said when they broke the kiss.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, grab somebody special to you, because it's time for us to slow things down with _Faithfully_ by Journey," the DJ said. Brendan looked around and saw Gwen by the DJ's booth with a smile on her face. Gwen merely winked and Brendan knew that she had requested this, and he couldn't agree more that it was the perfect song for the moment. The song began, so he held May close, and they danced the night away.

 **Thank you for reading. As with the previous chapter, I am taking submissions for OCs for the League tournament. If you choose to send an OC to me, include the character's:**

 **Name:**

 **Physical Appearance:**

 **Personality:**

 **Team and Ace Pokémon (Please limit legendaries, if any, and keep the teams balanced):**

 **Hometown (From any of the main games, or the Orre region):**

 **Battle Style:**

 **Backstory (if you want):**

 **If you come up with an OC, please PM me.**


	14. The Legends of Hoenn

_The Legends of Hoenn_

Brendan woke up the next morning in his and May's room in the Pokémon Center, and he felt the distinct pressure of May's lips on his. He moved his right arm up to the back of her head, continuing the kiss further. They ended the kiss after a minute. "That's got to be the best way to wake up," Brendan said.

"Well, you definitely earned it after last night," May said. After they had danced for a while, multiple other trainers decided that they wanted to test themselves against him, and all of them had lost. Needless to say, May was quite proud of her boyfriend.

What they had planned for today was the delivery of the letter to Steven, but they had to figure out where he was before they were able to do that. So, once they were both showered and dressed, they went to Nurse Joy's desk.

"How are you two this morning?" she said cheerfully.

"We're doing well, and yourself?" Brendan said politely.

"Everything is just peachy," she said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, there is. We're looking for a guy named Steven Stone. Has he come through here recently?"

"Yes, he actually arrived while you were at the beach party last night. He left early this morning, and said something about going to Granite Cave. It's a famous cave on the northern western part of the island," She said.

"Can you mark it on our map?" Brendan asked as he pulled up the Map feature on his PokeNav.

"Yes, the entrance is right…here," she said as she touched a spot on the map, marking it on the touch screen. "You can't miss the entrance."

"Great, thank you for your help," Brendan said.

"It was my pleasure," Nurse Joy said. That was when Brendan and May took their leave, followed closely by Gwen, who was once again skipping.

 _So, what do you think this Steven guy is like?_ Gwen asked as they began their trek to the cave.

"I've heard he's always well dressed, and he's a strong Pokémon trainer," May said.

"Sounds like an interesting guy. I'm sure that he will be helpful to talk to," Brendan said.

"People say he's a really nice guy, so he may help us out," May said optimistically.

They walked for about two hours, making jokes and telling each other stories about their childhoods. It was a really fun walk, and along the way, a man called them over to him, and he gave them both older fishing rods, telling them that it would help them with catching water-types.

"This island is truly beautiful. The beaches are just gorgeous, and the water around it is so clear," May said in a slightly romantic voice.

"I'd say so," Brendan said. "But it looks terrible when compared to you."

May began to blush deeply. "Th-thank you," she said.

 _You smooth son of a bitch!_ Gwen said. Brendan just smiled and winked as they arrived at the cave's entrance. They walked in, and they could see it was surprisingly well lit, and they saw a few Pokémon.

"Hey, Brendan, before we go any further, I want to see if I can catch a Pokémon," May said. She pulled out Miranda's Pokéball and began to walk around. Meanwhile, Brendan and Gwen sat on a rock, and just talked while May went on her search.

She searched for ten minutes, and was about to move on when she heard a metallic squeaking behind her. She whirled around and saw an Aron glaring at her. It looked a lot like any other Aron, but the biggest difference was that its underbelly had a slightly green tint and its eyes were red, rather than blue. "So, you want to battle, do you?" The little steel type nodded, looking determined. May threw Miranda's Pokéball out and called for her. "Alright, Miranda, let's go!" Miranda came out of the Pokéball in a superhero landing pose, ready to battle.

The Aron sprinted as fast as it could at Miranda, its head lowered for a Tackle attack. "Miranda, dodge and use Ember!" May called out. Miranda casually side-stepped the Iron Armor Pokémon before spitting balls of flames at it. The fire hit squarely, but Aron barely even flinched. Instead, it just kicked the ground, throwing mud at Miranda, which hit her in the eyes. It was a perfectly executed Mud Slap attack, which caused Miranda to have trouble seeing, and a purple aura radiated from her briefly, indicating a loss of accuracy.

"Miranda, use Flame Charge!" May said. This would hopefully do enough damage to allow May to catch this Pokémon. Miranda began to sprint, becoming shrouded in flame as she ran. A slight red aura radiated from her as she ran, indicating an increase in speed, and she kept getting faster with each passing second. She kicked the Aron into the air, then body checking it into the wall.

"Great job Miranda, now go Pokéball!" May said as she threw an empty Pokéball at the little creature. It went inside, and the struggle began slowly. After three shakes, it stopped and three stars came out from ball, and the Aron was captured. "Alright! I caught an Aron!" May said, catching Brendan and Gwen's attention. They both walked toward May, who let her newest team member out of its Pokéball. Gwen skipped up to Aron and began to speak with it briefly. When they finished conversing, Gwen turned back to Brendan and May.

 _So, this is Erza, and she likes to battle a lot. She says that she is the strongest Aron in this cave,_ Gwen said with a smile.

"Wow, that's really cool. And the red eyes make you look even stronger," May said as she crouched down to get closer to the Pokémon. "Erza, do you want to travel with me? We'll be performing in contests, but you'll get stronger every day we're together." Erza thought for a short time, before chirping happily, and excitedly.

 _She says that she will do that if you provide strawberry cake every once in a while,_ Gwen said, smiling. _That is something I think I can get behind as well._ She then looked at Brendan. _Why don't you provide us with cake already?_

"I didn't realize you wanted cakes. I guess we can arrange for that," Brendan said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I don't object either," May said before turning back to Erza. "I think we can manage that request. Welcome to the team, now return. I will call for you later when we begin our training together." Erza smiled and chirped as she returned to her Pokéball.

"Well, let's go deliver that letter," May said as she stood up and brushed off her knees. Brendan followed her as she walked to the back of the cavern, moving toward an opening that led to a large cavern. They entered the room, and were shocked by a magnificent cave painting. It showed a whale-like Pokémon in a raging ocean under storm clouds facing a behemoth of a Pokémon that stood on land under intense sunlight. In the sky above those two was what looked like a massive snake-like dragon.

"Oh my Arceus," Brendan said breathlessly.

 _I know what you mean,_ Gwen said. _This is beautiful._

"Hello there," said a man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, from a higher landing. He was dressed in a tuxedo, with a vest and steel cuffs. He also wore two rings on each hand, and a stickpin on his lapel with a blue jewel with a gold and white swirl inside it. "You two must be Brendan, May, and Gwen. Father said you'd be coming."

"And you must be Steven. We have a letter here for you," Brendan said as he reached into his backpack's side pocket and pulled out the letter before walking up the staircase leading to the landing Steven was standing on. May and Gwen followed close behind.

Steven took the letter and put it in a pocket on the inside of his coat. "Thank you Brendan, May, and Gwen," he said. "My father told me that you're both new trainers from Littleroot Town."

"Yeah, that's right," May said. "Although I'm a coordinator."

"Then Brendan is the one that just beat Roxanne," Steven said. "Well, normally when I meet other trainers, I like to see the Pokémon they are raising. Do you mind if I have a look?"

"Not at all. Alright everybody, come on out!" Brendan called as he tossed his two other Pokéballs into the air, letting out Clint and Nikki. May sent out Miranda, Lily, Wingull, and Erza at the same time. Steven smiled as he inspected each Pokémon, including Gwen.

"You two seem to be raising your Pokémon properly, with love and trust above all else, but you don't baby them. That is perfect. Keep that up, and I am sure you will make it far in your travels," Steven said. Brendan looked over at Gwen, who was looking happy that Steven was complimenting them.

"Well, for me, when I meet a trainer who looks strong, I want to battle them," Brendan said. "What do you say to that?"

Steven smiled almost apologetically. "I know exactly what you mean. I was that way when I started traveling. Unfortunately, I think it would be best to hold off on our match until you have more experience," Steven said.

Brendan nodded. He understood what that meant. It meant that, like Norman, Steven was in a much higher league than he was ready for. "Alright, I'll hold you to that," Brendan said.

"But, I would like to help you two along your journey. Here, I have a gift for both of you," Steven said as he reached into another one of his pockets, and pulled out two grey discs, with the number 51. "These discs are for TM51, it will teach your Pokémon Steel Wing. It's actually my favorite move." Brendan and May both took a TM and placed them in their bags.

"Well thank you so much Steven," Brendan said.

"Now, there is another thing you two should learn about before you leave. That is what this painting is representing," Steven said. "Before I begin, do either of you know about legendary Pokémon?"

"I know about a few of them, like Arceus, Ho-oh, and Suicune. Aside from them, I don't know much," Brendan said.

"Well, in Hoenn, there is a legend about the formation of the land and sea," Steven said. "The two Pokémon depicted at the bottom are Kyogre, the leviathan who controls the sea and causes terrible storms, and Groudon, the behemoth controlling land and bringer of droughts. It is said that they clashed millennia ago, and that battle is what shaped the continents and the oceans."

 _There are Pokémon with THAT much power?_ Gwen said in awe.

"Yes, but they eventually got out of control. So, the Pokémon above them, Rayquaza the sky dragon Pokémon, came down from the ozone layer and put an end to their battle. After the two titans were calmed, they went into hibernation, while Rayquaza returned to the ozone layer," Steven said. "They have not been seen since then."

"So, even with all their power, Kyogre and Groudon both ran from Rayquaza. It's hard to believe that Pokémon with that much power exist," Brendan said.

"There is more, however," Steven said. "By now, I'm sure you've at least heard of Mega Evolution, right?"

"Yeah, if the bond between a Pokémon and Trainer is strong enough, they can achieve a new level of power, where the Pokémon temporarily takes on a different form, right?" May said.

"That's correct. But according to a recently found document, Kyogre and Groudon do something like mega evolution called Primal Reversion. In their Primal forms, one of them could reshape the landscape of a region with little effory. Together, they could devastate the entire world," Steven said. "Their power is essentially the power of the worst possible weather for their element."

"That's really amazing," Brendan said. "But I'm confused. Why are you telling us this?"

Steven smiled again. "Partly because we're standing in front of the cave painting and the story is interesting. It's also because I wanted teach you that there will always be forces more powerful than you can control. While you're on your journey, can you promise me that you will not take unnecessary risks, especially if you are not ready for them?"

 _I'll make sure that Goldenrod here doesn't do anything stupider than usual,_ Gwen said, making Steven chuckle, while Brendan just rolled his eyes at Gwen's antics.

"I'm not sure if that'll be possible, since we've already battled Team Aqua twice. And I'm sure those are not the only times we will encounter them. And we might also run into Team Magma while we travel," Brendan said.

"I understand," Steven said. "But just remember to not try to battle their admins until you're absolutely sure you're ready for it." Brendan nodded in agreement, as did May.

That was when Steven's phone beeped with a message. He checked and his eyes went wide. "I'm sorry about this, but I need to leave. My father just found something important that he wants me to see," he said. "It was very nice meeting all of you, and I hope we meet again." Once he said that, he took his leave and exited the cave. Brendan and May recalled their Pokémon, and followed him out shortly thereafter.

"Well, he was really nice," May said.

"Yeah, I'm glad we took that delivery job," Brendan said.

 _Yeah, and tomorrow is Brendan's Gym Battle!_ Gwen said.

 **Thank you for reading this (admittedly short) chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and as always, reviews are always welcomed, just be honest about what you felt, just be polite about it.**

 **Before somebody asks, yes Erza is referring to the character from** _ **Fairy Tail**_ **, which is why she's shiny (also why she likes strawberry cake).**

 **I am still collecting OCs for the league. If you come up with an OC, send me a PM, including the character's:**

 **Name:**

 **Physical Appearance:**

 **Personality:**

 **Team and Ace Pokémon (Please limit legendaries, if any, and keep the teams balanced):**

 **Hometown (From any of the main games, or the Orre region):**

 **Battle Style:**

 **Backstory (if you want):**


	15. A Brawl for a Badge

_A Brawl for a Badge_

Early the next morning, Brendan was on the beach with his Pokémon, just finishing up some stretches like they had done before facing Roxanne. Gwen was the most excited because she knew she would be Brendan's first choice for this battle, since Brawly supposedly trained fighting-types.

May was happily watching her friends as they prepared for their next test. She sat on one of the chase lounges with a hot cup of green tea and a bowl of mixed fruits, including multiple kinds of melons, bananas, and pineapples. She had Lily, Miranda, Graham, and Erza sitting on the beach with her, watching the four figures on the beach getting loose and limber for their match.

"You guys looked great over there," she called out with smile. "I know you guys will be great today!"

 _Thanks May,_ Gwen said excitedly. _I think we should be ready for the battle by now._

"Yeah, I'd say you're right," Brendan said as he pulled out Clint's and Nikki's Pokéballs. "Alright you two, return for now." They were both brought back into their Pokéballs, which Brendan placed on his belt. "Gwen, you ready for this?"

 _You act like you don't know that answer already,_ she said in a sassy tone.

"True, so what do you say we head to the Gym and take on Brawly?"

May finished what fruit was left, had her Pokémon return to their Pokéballs and she took her tea with her as they left the beach and began to walk toward the southern part of town, where they were told the gym was.

It didn't take long to find it, since the building was similar to the Rustboro City gym. "Alright, let's go inside!" Brendan said as he approached the automatic doors. When they got inside, however, all three of them were confused. Instead of a battlefield, there were rows of work out equipment, with multiple people and Pokémon already there working out. A man with grey hair, an orange shirt, and athletic shorts was standing at the front desk next to a woman with black hair, a blue sports bra and yoga pants when they arrived. The man walked up to them with a smile.

"Hello there, and welcome to both of you. I haven't seen either of you before, so you must be new to the island," he said.

"Yeah," Brendan said, a tone of confusion. "We are looking for the Dewford Gym, but I think we got directions to the wrong type of gym."

"Oh no, you're in the right place," the man said. "I'm Brawly, and this is my gym. It has two sections: the workout room, and the battlefield."

"That's a relief," Brendan said. "Well, I should introduce myself too. I'm Brendan Maple."

"So you made it here. Roxanne told me that the new Petalburg gym leader's son was coming here for a battle," Brawly said as he shook Brendan's hand in greeting. He then turned to May. "Then that must make you May, and the Kirlia is Gwen, right?"

 _Yeah, that's right!_ Gwen said cheerfully. Brendan nodded.

"Then you three should follow me! Hannah, could you send Jack to the battlefield for me? We'll need a referee," Brawly said as he led the trainers and Gwen to the back of the weight room, and opened a door in the back. They entered the room and saw a battlefield surrounded by bleachers. "So, you only have the one gym badge from Roxanne, right?" Brawly asked.

"That's right," Brendan said.

"Then I will be using my standard team for this battle," Brawly said. "It will be a three-on-three battle, agreed?"

"That sounds good to me," Brendan said.

"I'll be sitting in the bleachers," May said as she sent out her Pokémon so they could watch the match. She then gave Brendan a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck out there."

Brendan smiled at her. "Thanks May," he said. Brawly went to the left side of the battlefield and took his position, while Brendan and Gwen did the same on the right side. That was when a young man with two flags in-hand. This had to be Jack, but then Brendan recognized him.

"Hey, you're the DJ from the party two nights ago!" he said.

"Well, if it isn't Brendan Maple, good to see you my man," Jack said. "I shoulda guessed you'd be the challenger today. Brawly, you'd better be careful with this one. He's an incredible battler."

"I will keep that in mind. So Brendan, are you ready to begin the battle?" Brawly asked.

"Absolutely,' Brendan said.

 _Bring it on!_ Gwen said.

"Then come on out Rick!" Brawly said as he tossed out a Pokéball. The Pokémon that appeared was very familiar to Brendan, since it was a common site in Johto. It was a Machop, the grey-skinned fighting type that was known for having immense strength.

"Gwen, what do you say we try to win this without losing a round?" Brendan said.

 _I like it,_ Gwen said with determination.

"Then get out there. You'll be battling first," Brendan said. Gwen cheerfully skipped onto the battlefield, and took a stance that looked almost like a ballerina's before a dance began.

"Begin the battle!" Jack said.

"Rick, use Bulk Up!" Brawly said. Rick took a deep breath and began to take deep breaths as a red aura surrounded the fighting-type.

"Gwen, use Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. Gwen began to sing in a shrieking voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and a light pink ring of energy flew at Rick, who had little time to dodge. "Now use Double Team!" Brendan said. That was when multiple copies of Gwen appeared around the battlefield, and the sonic rings hit Rick, throwing him off-balance.

"Rick, use Karate Chop!" Brawly said. Rick sprinted at Gwen, and spun so the ulnar side of his right hand would strike her in the neck.

"Gwen, use Confusion and stop his attack!" Brendan said. Gwen's eyes and her red horns began to glow blue, and that aura wrapped around Rick, stopping him merely a centimeter from her neck.

 _Boy, do not test me!_ Gwen said as she threw Machop across the field, where he landed hard on his side, but he still struggled to his feet.

"Rick, use Focus Energy!" Brawly said. Rick closed his eyes once more as sparks of energy escaped from his pores and flew into the air. His muscles began to bulge as his strength also increased.

"Great," Brendan muttered under his breath. "Gwen, finish this with your strongest Confusion!" Gwen smirked.

 _You got it Goldenrod,_ she said as she gripped Rick's entire body with her psychic power. Brendan just rolled his eyes at the nickname. Gwen then threw Rick across the field, this time throwing him into a wall. Rick slid down the wall and slumped to the floor.

"Rick is unable to continue, Gwen wins the round!" Jack said.

"Return Rick!" Brawly said. Once Rick was inside his Pokéball, Brawly turned back to Brendan. "Man, I should have realized that Jack wasn't kidding when he said you were strong. But I guess that was my mistake for underestimating you as a challenger." Brawly began to chuckle. "Now, I guess I should be getting serious for this battle. Go, Franz!" The Pokéball released a short, grey and blue humanoid Pokémon.

"What Pokémon?" Brendan asked.

"Franz is a Meditite, a meditation Pokémon that has amazing strength for its size," Brawly said. "And, its secondary type is psychic."

 _So that means that we should use Fairy Type attacks mostly,_ Gwen said to Brendan only.

 _I know what you mean, that and some power boosting attacks_ , Brendan responded. Gwen smiled.

 _We don't want to destroy Brawly's confidence,_ Gwen said with a slight laugh.

"Franz, use Focus Punch!" Brawly said. Franz closed his eyes and began to gather his energy, first to his center, then to his fist.

"Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. Gwen shrieked once more. The sonic rings hit Franz head on, knocking him back and causing the energy around his fist to dissipate. "Nice hit!"

 _Did you expect any less?_ Gwen asked.

"Franz, get up, and use Bullet Punch!" Brawly said. Franz's fists began to glow like steel before he sprinted toward Gwen with his fist raised.

Brendan's and Gwen's eyes both went wide. Bullet Punch, a steel type attack, was one of Gwen's few weaknesses. They needed to act fast. "Gwen, use Protect, then Double Team!" Brendan said. Gwen threw up a green field of energy just as Franz was about to hit Gwen, and that sent him stumbling backwards from the recoil. Then Gwen proceeded to create over twenty copies of herself. "Now, use another Disarming Voice!"

 _My vocal cords can only take so much of them,_ Gwen said, but she still shrieked loudly, sonic rings flying from all of the copies, and each one struck at the same time. The one real attack sent Franz into the air.

"Now, use Confusion, and throw Franz to the ground," Brendan said. Gwen reached out with her energy, gripping the Pokémon tightly and holding him in place before she swung her arm toward the ground, causing him to crash into the floor with tremendous force. Where he landed was where he remained.

"Franz is unable to battle, Gwen is the winner!" Jack said. "Brawly, you'd better step it up man, or you'll be more beaten than the eggs I had this morning."

Brawly recalled Franz with a bit of a grimace. "Yeah, I can't believe how strong that Kirlia is," Brawly said. "You two are probably the single best team of Pokémon and trainer I have ever seen at this level. But with my pride as a Gym Leader on the line, I can't let you win this next round. Go Aries!" He threw his next Pokéball, and it released a fat-looking Pokémon that looked like a small sumo wrestler.

"Wow, what is that Pokémon?" Brendan said.

"Aries is a Makuhita. They have a great deal of power from their dense muscle," Brawly said. "He won't be beaten easily."

"Alright, Brawly is down to his last Pokémon, while Brendan still has all three of his Pokémon left," Jack said. "You may resume the battle!"

"Gwen, use Confusion!" Brendan said. Gwen's body once again began to glow with a blue aura which soon ensnared Aries. "Now, throw him to the ground!" Gwen swung her arm down, sending the Makuhita plummeting to the ground.

"Aries, use Vital Throw!" Brawly said. Just as Aries was about to land, he flipped and landed on his feet, then sprung forward, his left arm held out for a lariat, while his right arm was in front of his chest. Gwen had no chance to dodge as Aries's left hand got to her neck, and his right hand grabbed her waist. Aries then swept Gwen's legs out from under her and choke-slammed her. Aries leapt back toward Brawly and took up a fighting stance.

"No, Gwen!" Brendan said as he saw her eyes bug out from the impact. Gwen struggled to her feet. "Hey, are you alright? Can you keep going?"

 _Yeah, I'm just fine. Don't forget, fighting type attacks have little effect on me,_ Gwen said. _But that thing is strong. I don't think taking too many of his attacks will be a good idea._

"Yeah, you're right about that. So what do you say we end this?" Brendan said.

 _Let's do this in style_ , Gwen said.

"Then use Double Team, followed by Confusion, then Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. Gwen smiled as almost twenty copies of Gwen appeared around the entire battlefield. Then they all began to radiate blue aura, which gripped Aries tightly and raised him into the air. The last thing they all did was shriek at the top of their lungs, sending multiple sonic rings at Aries while he was still in the air. Every ring was perfectly accurate, and it struck Aries from all sides, making him cry out in protest. "Now throw him to the ground!" Gwen's copies all nodded as they swung their arms down, sending Aries flying into the ground. He slammed into the dirt, sending up a dust cloud. When it settled, Aries hadn't moved.

"And it looks like this battle is over," Jack said. "Aries is unable to continue, that means Gwen wins the round, and the match goes to Brendan!" Gwen's clones all faded away as Brendan ran onto the field.

"Gwen that was amazing!" Brendan said as he picked up Gwen to celebrate.

 _Yeah, but I'm going to be feeling that Vital Throw for about a week,_ she said with a cringe.

"Hey, we'll take you to the Pokémon Center and get you healed up in no time at all," Brendan said as Brawly walked over to him.

"Well, you two were incredible. I really need to increase my training, then I will call you for a rematch once I'm ready. Since you won, I present you with the Knuckle Badge," Brawly said as he held out a badge shaped like a boxing glove. Brendan took it and placed it into his badge case next to the Stone badge. "And another gift from me, here is TM08, use it to teach Bulk Up. The move will raise both attack and defense at the same time. It's pretty invaluable if you want to buff up your Pokémon in a tough situation."

"Thank you so much Brawly!" Brendan said. "And I look forward to that rematch!" That was when May surprised him by spinning him toward her and kissing him on the lips.

"Congratulations on your second badge," May said.

"Thank you May," Brendan said. "I'm just glad you were here to see it." They then turned to leave, bidding a fond farewell to Brawly as they left.

"Now, I think we have to get to Slateport City as soon as we can," May said as they walked back outside.

"Right," Brendan said. "Isn't there going to be a contest there in about a week?"

"Yes, that's why we need to hurry. You already have two badges. I need my second ribbon!"

 _Do either of you remember where Mr. Briney, said he was staying?_ Gwen inquired.

"I think it was the Wingull Inn, or something like that," Brendan said.

 _That man is really obsessed with Wingulls._

"Yeah, it seems that way," May laughed.

While their stay on Dewford Island had been fun, Brendan, May, and Gwen were ready to continue on their journey through Hoenn, blissfully unaware of what was getting ready to unfold in the tropical region.

 **Hey everybody, before I end this chapter, I should tell everybody that I am discontinuing my collection of OCs since too few people have sent them in. For those of you who have already sent them, I will make the call whether I will use your characters for the tournament, or if I will just make my own OCs. If I use your character, I will still give you credit via shoutout. If not, then better luck next time.**

 **I know, it was an easy win against Brawly, but I can promise you that this is the last easy gym battle for Brendan. From here, it will only get more difficult for Brendan.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You can look forward to the next chapter, for the second leg of Brendan, Gwen, and May's trip to Slateport, followed quickly by May's next contest.**

 **As always, reviews are welcomed (please review, I'm really trying to improve my writing).**


	16. The Dangers of the Sea

_The Dangers of the Sea_

The next day, Brendan, May, and Gwen found themselves on Mr. Briney's boat once more, this time they were driving to the east. Gwen sat on the bow with Brendan beside her, with May next to him. Brendan had taken his hat off as he enjoyed the wind in his hair, while May had chosen to forego the bow and letting her hair fall freely. Today was set for relaxation on the water and enjoying their downtime.

"This is such a nice day again," Brendan said.

"I know," May said as a gust of wind blew her shoulder-length hair gently. "I just hope we don't get another storm like last time."

 _I think there should be smooth sailing the entire trip to Slateport_ , Gwen said.

"Well that is good to hear," Brendan said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, but with our luck, we will encounter something just as bad, if not worse than a storm," May said with a slight chuckle.

Brendan shook his head, knowing that May was probably right.

Back in the cabin, Mr. Briney was sitting at the captain's seat, with the throttle set, while he steered the boat away from any rocks. His boat was very high tech, and it came complete with multiple sonar sensors, and so far, the only things that had been picked up on the scopes were rocks and the occasional Pokémon. "Peecko, this is a great day t' be on the sea," he said after taking a sip of coffee. "The sun is shinin' and there's no sign of any foul weather."

"Gull!" Peecko said cheerfully. Unfortunately, that cheery mood didn't last, as the sonar suddenly began to show multiple Pokémon approaching, and they were moving fast.

"Oh no," Mr. Briney said. "What are these Pokémon doing on this route? They should only be near Pacifidlog Town."

Back on the deck, Gwen had pointed out the fins of multiple aquatic Pokémon, which she called Sharpedo. Brendan decided to look them up in his Pokédex.

"Sharpedo, the Brutal Pokémon, and the evolved form of Carvanha. This Pokémon is known as the vicious and sly gangster of the sea. Its skin is specially textured to minimize drag in water. Its speed tops out at over 75 miles per hour. It is also referred to as 'The Bully of the Sea.'"

"Oh no, these Sharpedo are going to be much stronger than any Pokémon we've faced before," May said with concern as the fins got closer and more numerous.

 _What should we do?_ Gwen said. _Sharpedo are part dark type, which means they have an advantage over me._

"Maybe if we don't bother them, they won't bother us," Brendan said.

"Wishful thinking," May said. "Sharpedo can be very aggressive, especially with things in their territory." That was when a massive Sharpedo leapt out of the water, ramming the side of the ship, making it rock and putting a dent in the hull.

"Damn it!" Mr. Briney said as the boat shook. "They're already startin' to attack us."

May and Brendan were both worried now, as at least seven fins appeared in the water, and they had the ship surrounded.

"What'll we do?" Brendan said.

"We need to fight them off," May said as another Sharpedo attacked. "Otherwise they will tear this ship apart."

 _Those Sharpedo are way too powerful for us to face. The weakest one is at least twice as strong as any one of your Pokémon. That wouldn't be a problem if it was just one or two, but there are seven there at least. That's one for each Pokémon. We won't be able to battle them for too long,_ Gwen said. _It'll only get us hurt._

"I know, but if we do nothing, then we'll be stranded out here," Brendan said. "We need to at least try."

 _Damn it, I hate it when you're right about these things!_

Brendan and May both took out their other Pokéballs and let out Miranda, Clint, Lily, Nikki, Erza, and Graham. "Alright everybody, we need you to protect the boat. This will be our hardest battle yet, but we have to fend of the Sharpedo," Brendan said with determination and some slight fear. "May and I might not be able to keep track of everything going on, so trust your own judgment but don't get reckless!"

All of the Pokémon nodded in unison, with Gwen smiling nervously. She knew this battle would drain her physically and mentally, but what other choice did they have? They needed to fight to make it through this.

"Alright, remember to stay on the boat or in the air to attack. Don't get too close," Brendan said. All the Pokémon nodded before taking positions around the boat and preparing for the fight of their lives.

Gwen, who stood on the tip of the bow, used Disarming Voice, which struck a Sharpedo as it circled the boat. It flinched, but then began to swim even faster than before as it swung around and leapt from the water. _Shit,_ she said as she ducked and the incoming Pokémon flew over her and the boat and splashed back in the water. _Clint go to port and hit them with Bullet Seed; Miranda go to starboard and use Ember! Nikki and Erza, you stay near aft in case anything tries to get into the boat from there. Lily and Graham, you two fly overhead and fire attacks from above, but stay out of their jumping range. I will be on the bow hitting them with Disarming Voice and my new attack, hopefully that will hold them off. Everybody, waste no attacks, try to get a hit._ The Pokémon all took their positions and began attacking while the pack of Sharpedo circled the boat. Gwen hit four with Disarming Voice attacks, while Clint and Miranda had hit all six with their attacks. Three had tried to enter the boat only to be repelled by quick Headbutts or Fury Swipes from Nikki and Erza. Graham had hit a couple of them with a Supersonic attack, causing them to start attacking one another. Lily had hit one with a lucky Poison Sting that poisoned the Sharpedo. Despite using their most powerful attacks, there seemed to be very little effect on most of the Brutal Pokémon, since none of them seemed to be giving up.

What May noticed, though, was that one of the Sharpedo seemed to be steadily getting faster, whereas the others seemed to be getting slightly slower. "Shit, does that one have Speed Boost?" she asked, referring to the rarer of Sharpedo's special abilities.

"I don't know, but if it does then we need to take care of it before it's too fast to hit," Brendan said. "Gwen and Clint, focus your attacks on the fastest one, we need to stop that one as soon as we can!"

 _Got it, but I'd better power up!_ Gwen said. She closed her eyes while a blue aura surrounded her with the power of Calm Mind. She opened her eyes and a gust of wind spiraled outward, sending a powerful ripple forward. _Now I am ready._ Gwen shrieked once, sending a Disarming Voice directly forward, which was timed perfectly. Unfortunately, the attack wasn't as effective as Gwen hoped. Clint, on the other hand, hit another Sharpedo with five consecutive Bullet Seed attacks. The shark Pokémon then leapt out of the water, mouth agape. _Clint, look out!_ Gwen said with concern in her voice.

Clint snapped his attention to the airborne Sharpedo as his leaves began to glow a yellow-green color as he powered up a Fury Cutter, leaping into the air and repeatedly slashed the Pokémon across the face, leaving a mark across its right eye and sending it back to the water.

 _Great Clint, keep that up!_ Gwen said before unleashing another Disarming Voice. On starboard, Miranda had scored a few hits with Ember, burning one of them in the process. That was another leapt from the water, this time going for Miranda. Luckily, Miranda saw it in time and reacted by jumping into the air and hitting it with a fierce Double Kick, which sent it back into the water.

 _Nice kicks, keep it up!_ Gwen said as two of the Sharpedo swam away, deciding that they'd had enough. That was when the Speed Boosting Sharpedo took a more aggressive approach. It leapt from the water and fired off a ball of water at Erza, which sent her flying to the center of the boat with a cry. May sprinted over to her Pokémon as Sharpedo dove back into the ocean.

"Erza, are you alright?" she asked with concern. Erza shook her head to get herself out of the daze she was in.

"Brww" Erza chirped with a determined expression.

"Alright, be careful, I don't want you to get hurt," May said as the steel type ran to her previous position, using Harden repeatedly to prepare for the next attack.

That was when one of the other Sharpedo flew over the boat, firing a burst of dark rings at Gwen from behind. "Gwen, behind you, dodge it!" Brendan called out.

 _I got it!_ Gwen said, waiting for a moment before the attack hit, she used Teleport, and returned once the attack flew by. The Speed Boosting Sharpedo fell past the bow, but not without Gwen hitting it with a Disarming Voice, sending sonic wave out, hitting it in the stomach and sending it flipping through the air.

"Damn it, these things are too powerful," Brendan said. "How are we going to get out of this?"

"With strategy, skill, and a whole lot of luck," May said.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Brendan said.

 _Then we need to keep pushing, or we're screwed,_ Gwen said. They fought bitterly for nearly an hour, and each attack they made seemed only to get weaker from fatigue. The Speed Boosting Sharpedo was moving at a blinding speed, moving so fast that it almost appeared to be in four places at once, and all of the defending Pokémon seemed to be on their last legs of energy.

 _Brendan, we can't keep this up much longer!_ Gwen said through heavy breaths. _We need a miracle if we're going to win this!_

"I know, but we can't give up," Brendan said.

That was when an incredibly loud roar echoed across the water, and it sounded close. That one roar caused the Sharpedo to halt their circling, turn fin, and swim the opposite direction.

As they left, Brendan wanted to celebrate their survival, but there was now a bigger problem facing them. Even with all their strength, what had scared the Sharpedo so badly that they just abandoned the attack?

They didn't need to wonder long, as the source soon became visible over the horizon. What they saw was a massive sea serpent's head swimming toward them at a blistering pace. Brendan and May were both terrified at first, since they both recognized the Atrocious Pokémon, Gyarados, but Gwen alleviated their fear.

 _Guys, it's okay, there's a trainer on that Gyarados_ , Gwen said with relief.

That was when Gyarados pulled up beside the boat and the trainer, dressed in almost all white except for the aqua interior of his cape, and his button down shirt. He wore an artistic hat over his aqua hair, which looked very much like Lisia's hair color, but it was kept in a different, more reserved style. He leapt from the serpent and boarded Mr. Briney's boat.

"Are you all alright? I saw what was happening only a few minutes ago, and I could barely get here in when I did," the man said.

"Yeah, we're fine. Thank you so much for helping us when you did," Brendan said. He noticed all of the Pokémon on the boat were congregating on the bow, while the Gyarados just swam alongside the boat. Gwen leapt over to join the other Pokémon, who all began to converse with the sea serpent.

"Oh, it was no trouble, I just wish I could have gotten here earlier," he said as he reached out and shook Brendan's then May's hand. "I'm Wallace by the way."

"Wait, Wallace as in the expert water-type trainer?" May asked.

"The very same," Wallace said with a grin. "And who are you all, if I may ask?"

"I'm Brendan, and this is May," Brendan said with a smile.

 _Hey, Goldenrod, you forgot me!_ Gwen said with mock offense.

"And my Pokémon are Gwen the Kirlia, Nikki the Slakoth, and Clint the Grovyle," Brendan said with a slight laugh at Gwen's action.

"Then the others are May's?" Wallace said.

"Yep, mine are Miranda the Combusken, Lily the Beautifly, Graham the Wingull, and Erza the Aron," May said with a smile.

"Well, it's good to meet you all, but I must get going," Wallace said as he handed May a bag of ten Sitrus Berries. "Before I leave, I'd like to give you two this so you can heal your Pokémon."

"Thank you sir," Brendan said. With that, Wallace leapt onto Gyarados and departed, leaving the trio on Mr. Briney's boat as it continued toward Slateport.

"Alright everybody, come here and get your Sitrus Berry," May said cheerfully, getting the Pokémon crowding around her as she distributed the medicinal berries. Brendan, however, took a seat on the bow, contemplating what had just happened to them. "Brendan are you alright?"

"Physically, yeah, but I can't believe how powerful those Sharpedo were. Why did they even attack us in the first place?"

"It could've been for any reason, since Sharpedo are naturally aggressive. Most likely, we were in their territory," May said.

"Unfortunately, that's not the case," Mr. Briney said as he came out of the cabin with Peecko on his shoulder. "By my experience, Sharpedo has never been seen in this area of Hoenn. They're normally only seen in the eastern areas of Hoenn, namely near Pacifidlog Town. If they came here, then something must have upset their habitat."

"But what could have caused them to go so far from Pacifidlog?" May said as she finished distributing the Sitrus Berries.

"I don't know, an' I don't think we really want to find out," Mr. Briney said.

"Yeah, but based on how this journey is going already, I'm guessing that we'll figure it out whether we like it or not," Brendan muttered under his breath, only to be surprised when Gwen leapt onto his lap like she used to when she was a Ralts.

 _Hey, it'll be alright. All we can do is to keep training and soon nobody will be able to stop us,_ Gwen said with a sincere tone.

Brendan smiled as he hugged Gwen. "Thanks Gwen," he said. Clint and Nikki both joined their trainer, while May stood back with her Pokémon and her phone out as she took pictures of Brendan and his Pokémon.

 _You know Brendan, it's rare for a girl to find a sensitive guy like you,_ May thought to herself. _And I'm just glad I got to claim you before anybody else did._ That was when May realized that her thoughts may not have been so private, because she noticed Gwen giving her a knowing look. _Please don't tell Brendan._ Gwen just smiled and nodded.

"By the way, you should know that we will be arriving in Slateport by about noon tomorrow," Mr. Briney said. "So, you two just keep enjoying yerselves, and I will let you know when I need some help getting the boat docked."

"Sounds good," Brendan said. Then he turned back to his Pokémon. "And then we may need to double our training. What do you guys think?" The entire team gave a cheer, and Brendan knew they approved.

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this (admittedly, shameless filler) chapter. As always, honest reviews are welcomed, just don't be a jerk about it.**

 **I also want to give a quick shout out to rylek196 for helping me come up with the plot of this chapter.**

 **Anyway, I just want to reiterate what I said last chapter: The OC submissions aren't being taken anymore, so please stop sending them to me. I have way too many to use now, so please no more.**


	17. This Chapter Belongs in a Museum

_This Chapter Belongs in a Museum_

Brendan and May leapt from Mr. Briney's boat into the sandy beaches of Route 109. Luckily, the rest of the trip had gone without a problem, short of some slight boredom over lack of things to do on the boat. The weather wasn't quite as warm as it was on Dewford, but it was still beautiful. They bid farewell to Mr. Briney, who smiled and waved before returning to the boat and driving it toward the Slateport harbor. In the distance, Brendan could see towering skyscrapers, as well as an outdoor market.

The trio walked across the beach toward the city, with a few trainers challenging both Brendan and May to battles, some of them being tag battles, but they alternated who fought the single battles

"So, there are a few things we can do in Slateport, first, there's the harbor, and we are supposed to deliver the package for Devon there. Then there's the market, which is supposed to be a lot of fun," Brendan said.

"Or you could stop and say hello to your friend!" said a familiar feminine voice. May and Brendan both looked toward the beach chairs and saw a bikini-clad Lisia, an Altaria was sleeping on the sand next to her and a drink in her hand.

"Lisia!" May said excitedly as she ran over to her friend and fellow coordinator. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since the Petalburg Contest!"

"I've been great!" she said with a smile and she turned to Brendan and Gwen. "And I see you two have been training hard since I last saw you."

 _Yep, I guess the results are pretty obvious,_ Gwen said with a little giggle.

"Yes, you look beautiful as a Kirlia," Lisia said. "But I'm surprised that you evolved so quickly."

 _Yeah, it's a bit of a long story,_ Gwen said with a smile as she rubbed the back of her head.

"By the way, May, have you decided who you'll partner with for the contest?" Lisia asked.

"Partner?" May asked in a confused tone.

"Didn't you here that it's a tag-team contest? You need a partner to compete with you," Lisia said.

"Wow, then I guess it's lucky we ran into you, otherwise I would have been screwed," May said.

"You know, I'd be more than happy to join you on stage," Brendan said, getting a surprised look from Lisia.

"Really? I never really thought of you as a coordinator," Lisia said.

"Well, I'm more focused on Gym battles and the league. For May, however, I will gladly try contests," Brendan said.

Lisia got an inquisitive look on her face, which quickly changed, showing that she had figured it out. "You two are dating now, aren't you?"

"How'd you figure it out?" May said with a slight blush.

"It's obvious from the way that both of you talk about each other and then there's the fact that you two look at each other the way a new couple does," Lisia said, giggling to herself. "But you two make a very cute couple."

 _Yeah, but Goldenrod is still really awkward,_ Gwen said.

"Goldenrod?" Lisia laughed.

"Yeah, she and May gave me that nickname a while ago, and Gwen hasn't stopped using it," Brendan said.

Lisia laughed at that, but quickly regained her composure. "It's good that you have such a strong relationship. A Pokémon and Trainer should be the best of friends."

"Yeah, but at the same time she always seems to find ways to get on my nerves," Brendan said.

 _Yes, but if I stopped doing it then you'd think something was wrong_ , Gwen said.

"Yeah, but do you think you could at least tone it down a little?"

 _Hell no,_ Gwen said with a smile.

"I figured you'd say that," Brendan said as he shook his head. May and Lisia just laughed at their banter.

"So, Brendan, I think we need to get a room at the Pokémon Center and begin practicing a routine for the contest," May said, interrupting the conversation.

"Alright," Brendan said.

"You know, I think I've tanned long enough," Lisia said as she finished what was left of her drink. "I'll go with you guys, but you shouldn't worry about a room at the center. I have a penthouse in Slateport, and there's more than enough room for all of you. I have my own Pokémon healing machine and a hot tub."

 _Brendan, if you refuse this offer so help me…_ Gwen said.

"Relax Gwen, I was going to accept," Brendan said with a chuckle.

"Good, because I was going to accept regardless of your choice," May said.

"Alright, then follow me," Lisia said as she put on a shirt, sandals, and a beach skirt before kneeling next to her Altaria. "Ali, come on, we're heading home." The cloud winged bird raised his head, revealing a pendant with a pink gem with a blue and white streak through the center, catching Gwen's eye. The Pokémon flapped his wings as he followed his trainer.

 _Is that Altarianite?_ Gwen thought to herself. _Wow, this Altaria must be really strong._

They all walked for a while, walking past the outdoor market, but then they saw the shipyard. "Hey, we need to make that delivery for Devon Corp," Brendan said.

"Ok, here's the address of my building, I will tell the doorman that you will be coming," Lisia said as she wrote it in a sheet of paper and gave it to him.

"I hope you two don't mind, but I'm going to go with Lisia," May said.

"It's okay," Brendan said. "Gwen and I should be fine."

 _Yeah, sounds like a recipe for a_ _great_ _time,_ Gwen said sarcastically to herself as she leapt up to Brendan's shoulder. _Hey, Goldenrod, you mind giving me a ride there?_

"Not at all, Gwen," Brendan said as they departed from the group, heading toward the shipyard while May went to Lisia's penthouse. Brendan got to a security gate, and the guard stopped him.

"Excuse me kid, what're you doing here? You're not a worker," the guard said.

"My name's Brendan, I'm making a delivery from the Devon Corporation," Brendan said.

"Oh, that's right, we were told to expect you within the next few weeks. The office is that trailer over there," the guard said, pointing to an unimpressive, tan trailer with only two windows and a door. Brendan walked over to the trailer, and knocked on the door. The man who opened it was bald and looked to be in his fifties.

"Yeah, what d' ya need?" he said.

"I'm here with a package from Devon Corporation," Brendan said.

"Oh, damn it, of all the times for Stern to be at the museum!" the man said. "I'm sorry to have to send you somewhere completely different, but could you take that to the Oceanic Museum for me? There should be a man named Captain Stern there. He's the one the package is meant to go to."

Brendan pulled out his PokeNav and went to Slateport's map. "Can you mark it for me on this? It's my first time in Slateport," he said.

"Of course," the man said as he looked at the map momentarily before tapping a single point. "Go there, you'll know it when you see it."

"Thank you sir," Brendan said.

"You're welcome, cute Kirlia by the way," he said as they left.

Gwen blushed. _Thank you,_ she said quietly.

The man either didn't hear her or he didn't care, because he just closed the door and went back to work.

The walk took about ten minutes, during which they played a few games of twenty questions. Although, Brendan got the feeling that Gwen read his mind during his turns, since she figured them out with a maximum of five questions.

 _Hey we're here!_ Gwen said, pointing to a large, blue building with an oceanic paint design.

"Wow, the guy wasn't kidding when he said that we'd know it," Brendan said. "You ready to get this job out of the way?"

 _Yeah, it should be easy enough. Just a quick in and out,_ Gwen said. They walked into the building and what they saw stopped Brendan cold in his tracks.

"Team Aqua," Brendan gasped. "They're here." He began to walk into the museum, but the receptionists didn't take too kindly to that.

"Hey! Kid, it's fifty dollars to enter!" one of them said, drawing Brendan's gaze.

Brendan just rolled his eyes. "Fine, here," he said as he put the money on the counter. "Don't bother with the ticket."

"Thank you sir, enjoy your visit," she said politely.

 _Wow, they must really be oblivious_ , Gwen said.

 _Well, it is an ocean museum, so Team Aqua must not want to cause trouble here,_ Brendan said. That was when one of the grunts noticed him.

"SHIT, not that kid!" he shouted as he retreated. Brendan and Gwen both looked at him strangely. "You already beat me in Petalburg Woods and Rusturf Tunnel, what more do you want from me?" At this point his shouting was drawing the attention of a few other grunts in the vicinity. "Here, you can have this TM, just leave me alone!" he said as he pulled a black disc in a case from his pocket, threw it at Brendan and sprinted out of the museum. Brendan caught it and saw TM16 written on the top.

"Huh, fitting that a criminal would have the TM for Thief," Brendan said to Gwen.

 _Well, there are nothing but Team Aqua members here, want to head to the second floor?_

"Sure, let's go!" Brendan said as they went to the stairs. Brendan climbed up and they came to a nearly empty floor. The only other person was a middle-aged man wearing a naval captain's uniform sitting by an exhibit of a submarine, examining it and scribbling notes. Brendan approached him. "Excuse me sir, are you Captain Stern?"

The man looked up from his writing. "Indeed I am, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" he asked.

"I'm Brendan Maple, and this is Gwen. We have a package from Devon Corporation," he said for the third time that day. He pulled out the package from his bag and handed it to Stern.

"Ah, the parts finally arrived. Thank you so–"

He was cut off as two grunts from Team Aqua came up the stairs. "Oh no, I knew they were up to something," Brendan said.

May and Lisia had just arrived at Lisia's penthouse and had their Pokémon healed and they were sitting on a large, L-shaped couch, their Pokémon out and relaxing, the girls both had a cup of tea in their hands. They were now catching up. May had told Lisia of the encounters with Team Aqua, Brendan's gym battles, and the meeting with Steven Stone, and Lisia told May about some of the more obscure contests that she had gone to see. There was, however, one topic that Lisia wanted to discuss.

"So, May, how did you and Brendan start dating?" Lisia asked as May was taking a sip of her tea. May almost did a spit-take of her tea at the question. When she had recovered, began to tell the story.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," May said. "I guess it kind of starts the day that Brendan moved to Littleroot Town, right next door to me. I was outside when the van got there and he hoped out of the trailer."

"He was in the trailer?" Lisia laughed.

"Don't ask me why, I still don't know," May laughed with her. "But he was really cute and he had an air about him that I couldn't quite place."

"Sounds like a good first impression, what did you say to him?"

"Well, I never actually got the chance to talk to him that day. He was busy with the unpacking and the rest of the moving process. I didn't meet him until the next day, and by then he'd already befriended Gwen. He came over to my house to introduce himself around ten in the morning, but there was just one problem, when he got there, I was showering," May said. "And my mom sent him up to my room without realizing where exactly I was."

"Oh my, don't tell me. You were in a towel when you first saw him," Lisia said with a giggle.

"Yeah, I was expecting him to start ogling me, but he turned away like a gentleman. When I got dressed, we just talked and got to know each other better," May said. "Gwen was… well, she was Gwen."

"So, you three pretty much became friends immediately after meeting each other," Lisia said.

"Yeah, I guess Arceus just works in mysterious ways," May said with a smile. "Then came the time I really saw Brendan's compassionate side. It was after Gwen had the panic attack from the contest."

"I remember that, Brendan was sprinting out of the contest hall to get her to the Pokémon Center," Lisia said. "He looked so scared for her."

May smiled. "Yeah, that was what showed me how compassionate and selfless Brendan was. I guess that the way he was protecting his Pokémon and how he was comforting Gwen when she needed him just made me fall fast. I didn't even realize it at the time."

"So then what happened?"

"Well, after we beat two grunts from Team Aqua in the Petalburg Woods, we were camping in a tent, but apparently Gwen had her own plans. I woke up and I was in an … intimate position. I enjoyed it, so when he woke up I … kind of … made him stay there for a few more minutes."

Lisia just laughed. "And that's how you two started dating?"

"Yeah, and since then I haven't regretted it at all. We're going to be spending so much time together anyway, it really just makes sense," May said.

"I agree completely," Lisia said with a sparkle in her eye. "By the way, where is he? A simple delivery shouldn't take this long. Do you think he met with some trouble?"

"Probably, but if he did, then Brendan has Gwen, Clint, and Nikki with him for help," May said as she took a sip of tea.

Lisia just smirked. "Maybe I'm just over reacting."

"Hey, you, hand over those parts! We need them for our organization and the betterment of the world," the first grunt said.

"Yeah, and nobody is going to stop us this time," the other said.

"Oh? You want to put money on that?" Brendan said as he stepped forward.

"Who the hell are you?" the first grunt said.

"Who I am doesn't matter to you. What my Pokémon and I are going to do to you two if you don't step the fuck off and leave this museum, however…" Brendan said, trailing off for dramatic effect.

 _They don't look scared,_ Gwen said. _Actually, it looks like they're trying not to laugh._

Brendan just kept glaring at the two grunts who were barely composed as they seemed to take him lightly. _What do you think? Should I go overkill and battle them with you, Clint, and Nikki, or at least give them some solace in belief that they actually have a chance to win?_ he asked Gwen.

 _It'll be funnier to let them think they have a chance,_ Gwen said with a smirk.

 _Nikki first?_

 _Nikki first._

Brendan threw Nikki's Pokéball out, releasing the energetic sloth from her Pokéball.

"So, this kid is serious. Well, Phil, mind if I take the first crack at him?" said the first grunt.

"Go ahead Hank," the second, who Brendan figured was Phil, said.

"Sweet, come on out Bruce!" he said as he released a Zubat. "Use Supersonic!" The bat shrieked loudly, but it was such a high pitch that Brendan could not hear it at all. Nikki, however could hear it perfectly, as could Gwen.

 _OW! ARCEUS THAT'S GONNA MAKE MY EARS BLEED!_ Gwen shouted.

"Nikki, use Fury Swipes!" Brendan called out. Nikki, however, seemed to be disoriented, as she stumbled and fell to the ground.

 _Brendan, she's been confused, there's a chance she will keep hurting herself_ , Gwen said.

"Damn it. Nikki, try another Fury Swipes!" Brendan said. Nikki got up again, shaking her head quickly to bring herself from the daze. She then leapt at Bruce, slashing him across the face repeatedly, even leaving a slight scar. After the fifth hit, the Zubat had fallen to the ground, and was knocked out.

"W-what?" Hank said.

"Tch, pathetic," Phil said as he pulled out a Pokéball. "Step aside Hank. I'll do this. Go, Bart!" The Pokéball released another Zubat.

Brendan smirked. "Hey Nikki, are you ready for another go?" Nikki nodded confidently. "Great, use Bulk Up!" A crimson aura flared around Nikki as her attacking and defensive power rose.

"Leech Life," Phil said. Bart flew at Nikki, baring his fangs at Nikki. Brendan just smiled confidently.

"Nikki, hit him with Fury Swipes!" Brendan said. Nikki began slashing the Zubat swiftly and powerfully. This round didn't last much longer than the previous battle.

"As I thought, you're using the same strategy," Phil said as he recalled the now unconscious Bart. "But I still have one more Pokémon left, and he's much stronger than Bart. Go, Michael!" The Pokémon that appeared was, surprisingly, the Kanto water starter's second form, Wartortle.

"Nikki, you've done well, return and get some rest!" Brendan said as he held out Nikki's Pokéball. "Sorry Gwen, but this is Clint's battle." He then threw out Clint's Pokéball, letting out the wood gecko.

"Heh, this should be good, a pure grass-type against a pure water-type. Let's go," Phil said. "Michael, Rapid Spin!" Michael tucked his head into his center as he tucked his head and limbs into his shell and spun as he flew at Clint.

"Clint, dodge and use Bullet Seed!" Brendan said. Clint easily side-stepped the incoming attack, but when he fired his Bullet Seed, Rapid Spin sent the seeds in multiple directions, hitting the walls. Thankfully there was little damage, and the exhibits were miraculously untouched. "Now use Mega Drain!" Brendan said. A vibrant green vine of energy shot out from Clint's head leaf and wrapped around Michael, stopping the attack and beginning the draining effect.

"Michael, push through and use Ice Punch!" Phil said. Wartortle popped out of his shell as he began to move closer, wrapping the vine around his arms as he moved closer, ice energy enveloping his right hand. He got within striking distance and hit Clint hard across the face, releasing himself from Mega Drain, and sending Clint across the floor. Thankfully, Clint stood up and looked pretty pissed.

"Alright, let's finish this, use Fury Cutter!" Brendan said. The leaves on Clint's arms began to glow yellow-green and extended like blades as he ran at Michael. Clint got within striking distance and began to repeatedly hit his target, each hit getting stronger. On the fourth hit, though, he sent the turtle Pokémon bouncing across the floor. He came to rest at Phil's feet, and fainted there.

"DAMN IT!" Phil said. "What the hell will the boss do when he finds out that we failed?"

"That's a good question," said a deep voice. The speaker walked up from the stairs and Brendan could only react in slight fear. This man was dressed like an eccentric pirate captain. His clothing was all blue and white with a golden belt that held a short maroon cape, and a golden anchor charm hanging from his neck. He wore a sky blue bandana with the Team Aqua logo, and a blue wet suit with white underarms. He had an impressive goatee and a make-up X on the bridge of his nose and his eyes. He also wore blue and white water shoes. "What will I do to you two?"

"Boss!" both Phil and Hank said simultaneously as they clambered back to clear space.

"Save it you pathetic louts!" the new guy yelled before looking to Brendan. "Boy, do you know who I am?" Before Brendan could answer, the man continued. "I'm the leader of Team Aqua, Archie. I have heard of a miserable whelps has been messing up our operations, so I'm assuming you're the boy." Archie then began to inspect Brendan and Gwen closely. "I'm sure that you aren't Team Magma, you're not dressed for the part. So I ask you, why do you interfere with our work?"

"Because every time I have encountered your people, they are committing theft, trying to shoot people, or they kidnap Pokémon. I'm just the guy who won't stand for things like that," Brendan said.

"Hm," Archie said in an annoyed tone. "It can't be helped. You're too young to understand our objectives and how they will improve the world. I'll let this go for now, but don't expect mercy next time you interfere. You two, come with me." He gestured to the two grunts, and they left the building.

Brendan was left speechless until Gwen began waving her hand in front of his face. _Earth to Brendan! You in there?_

"Yeah, I just zoned out for a moment there, sorry Gwen," Brendan said.

 _I see, well, we should get to the penthouse, May and Lisia are probably getting concerned_.

"Right," Brendan said before turning to Captain Stern. "We will be heading out now. Sorry that we had that little fiasco."

"It's no problem. That was some impressive battling," Stern said. "And thank you for the delivery."

Brendan nodded his acknowledgment before departing for Lisia's penthouse. "I really need to take a dip in her hot tub tonight," he said.

Gwen smiled. _I was going to say the exact same thing._

 **Hey everybody, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. For the contents, there are a few points I want to address before I get people bitching at me:**

 **I know, the title is a very bad joke, but if you have read my other stories, then you know that's my type of humor and I will not change it anytime soon.**

 **I chose to switch the Aqua Grunt's Carvanha with a Wartortle since Carvanha is a fish, so it would have a lot of trouble battling on dry land compared to Wartortle.**


	18. A Perfect Duo – Part 1

_A Perfect Duo – Part 1_

"Lily, use Morning Sun!" May said. Beautifly flew into the air as a pretty beam of light fell from the sky.

"Gwen, use Magical Leaf and Confusion!" Brendan said. Gwen smiled as she sent fifteen rainbow glowing leaves into the air. She used Confusion to control the leaves, making them collide into one another, exploding and creating glittering fireworks that only sparkled more with the addition of the Morning Sun.

"Good Combo!" Lisia said. "But to really wow the judges, you need something a bit bigger than that."

 _I've got something!_ Gwen said. _Lily, use Silver Wind!_ Lily did as Gwen asked, sending multiple scythes of shining wind from her wings. Gwen then used Confusion, whipping the wind into a tornado. _Okay, now use Morning Sun, aim it at the tornado!_ Lily once again followed Gwen's lead, sending a beam of light toward the twister, making the entire thing sparkle. _Great, now the rest of it!_ Gwen used Magical Leaf again, sending the leaves into the tornado, making it flash the rainbow. She then used Confusion to break the twister apart, making the air glitter brilliantly.

"That's perfect!" Lisia said. "Do that during the performance and you'll make it to round two!" May and Brendan smiled, while Gwen and Lily started dancing in celebration. "How about we run that a few more times before we call it a night?"

It was midnight before the contest and Gwen couldn't sleep. She had gone out on the balcony of Lisia's penthouse while Brendan slept on the couch, hoping that some fresh air would calm her down. She was worried about the contest today.

 _Come on, it's not a big deal,_ she said to herself. _It'll be fine. Brendan won't let anything happen to me. If there is a Murkrow or Honchkrow at the contest, it won't be a problem. I need to get over this fear anyway._

That was when the door opened and Brendan walked out. "Hey, is everything alright?"

 _Right now it is,_ Gwen said. _But I'm freaking out about what will happen tomorrow. What if there is a Murkrow or Honchkrow like there was last time in Petalburg?_

"If it's there, then understand that it's not from the flock that killed your mother. It won't have the same disposition, and it won't try to harm you any more than is normal for a contest battle. Besides, you and I both know that neither of them can lay a feather on you," Brendan said as he hugged Gwen closely.

 _Yeah, true. I guess I could look at it that way,_ Gwen said.

"After all, the world's strongest Gardevoir can't be held back by a fear of other Pokémon, can she?"

 _You're right,_ Gwen said with some slight hesitation, with a slight smile. _I need to strengthen my resolve and not be afraid of some stupid crows._

"Exactly," Brendan couldn't help smiling at Gwen's enthusiasm. "Now come on. You need sleep for your performance tomorrow."

 _Give me a moment, I just want to sit for a little longer to calm my nerves,_ Gwen said.

"Alright, just don't take too long," Brendan said as he hugged Gwen, hoping it would help. Gwen closed her eyes and enjoyed the contact from her closest friend.

 _Thanks Goldenrod,_ Gwen said. This time, she didn't say the nickname to annoy her trainer. Rather, she said it to show that she was truly grateful that Brendan was her trainer.

"Hello everybody and welcome to this Slateport City's annual Pokémon Contest! I'm Vivian Meridian, and I'm happy to be the MC for this wonderful event," Vivian said as she stood in the center of the open ceiling stadium. The sun was shining brightly with a few clouds in the sky. "Before we get the performances underway, allow me to introduce our judges!"

Brendan turned away from the screen in the contestant waiting room and tuned out the announcements as he looked at his new contest outfit. It was a red and suit with a grey tuft of fur on the right shoulder and multiple steel studs throughout, and really large cuffs. He also wore a pair of black jeans with a red belt with gold accessories, and red shoes. From his left pocket came a chain with a steel Pokéball charm and finally a Pokéball in a steel clip keychain. His last item for the outfit was a red and yellow feather accessory in his hair over his left eye (His contest costume from ORAS). He thought he looked pretty eccentric, but stylish nonetheless. "I just hope other people think this isn't too gaudy," he said.

"Oh come on Brendan, you look fine," said a familiar voice. Brendan turned around and saw somebody he hadn't seen since the Petalburg Contest.

"Grace, it's good to see you again," Brendan said as he extended his hand to the woman.

"Likewise, how are Gwen and May?" she asked before looking around. "Actually, where are they?"

"May is still putting on her new outfit from Lisia, and Gwen is looking in that mirror over there. She's making sure she looks presentable for the contest," Brendan said.

 _And I think I'm done,_ Gwen said from across the room, earning looks from multiple coordinators. She then walked across the room with a smile directed at both Brendan and Grace, the latter of whom had a surprised look on her face.

"That's Gwen? When did she evolve?"  
 _It was in Rusturf Tunnel, but it's a long story_ , Gwen said.

"Well you are beautiful as a Kirlia. It just makes me wonder what you'll look like as a Gardevoir," Grace said. Gwen blushed deeply.

 _Thank you,_ Gwen said kind of quietly.

"By the way, Brendan, why are you in the contest?"

"I'm doing this for May since it's a tag-team contest," Brendan said.

"Well, then I should introduce you to my husband, Francis," Grace said. "He's around here somewhere."

"Well, I'm finally ready!" May said as she entered the waiting room. She was wearing the outfit that Lisia had given her, which consisted of a pink and white tutu and blouse, not unlike Lisia's outfit. The blouse had frilly sleeves, and also showed May's midriff, something that caught Brendan's eye. She also had a pink ribbon in her hair as well as pink high heels with white tall socks accentuated with pink bows.

"Wow, you look like everybody's idol," Grace said with a slight smile.

"Grace! How are you?" May said cheerfully.

"I'm doing very well. I was actually about to introduce Brendan to my husband. Care to join us?" Grace asked.

"Sure, but we may need to keep it brief so we're ready for the contest," May said.

"What are we keeping brief?" said a man who was a bit older than Grace, and his most definitive feature was his bright blue eyes. He wore a very nice tuxedo and a bolo hat

"Oh, Francis, I was just going to introduce you to May, and Brendan. We met at the Petalburg Contest," Grace said with a smile.

 _And then there's me!_ Gwen said. Francis smiled.

"Gwen, right? Grace told me about the talking Ralts, but I guess you've evolved," he said. "Anyway, when are you three going on?"

"We're supposed to be the last act, so we have a long time to wait," May said.

"Oh, well, we'll be the fifth act tonight, so we'll get the crowd hyped for you two. Hopefully we'll face each other in the final round," Francis said.

"Oh, is that Drew kid here?" Brendan asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Grace asked. "He was banned from the contest circuit for using a fake trainer's license, and for using a fake city name in the Petalburg Contest. I'm surprised that they didn't catch it before the contest began."

"I was wondering about that, since I'd never heard of LaRousse City before," Brendan said.

"Hey all!" another familiar voice said. A lot of the others in the waiting room were gawking at the speaker.

"Oh, Lisia, what're you doing down here?" Brendan asked.

"Well I had to be here for my new prodigy," Lisia said with a sly wink to May.

"And what a great third performance from Richard Johnson and his sister Hailey," Vivian said, her voice echoing from the television. "They pulled off a great combo with Murkrow and Girafarig!"

 _Brendan…_ Gwen said, excluding all others, including May, from their conversation.

 _It'll be okay. I won't let anything bad happen to you no matter what, understand?_ Brendan said.

Gwen hesitated. _Okay, I trust you_.

"Well, Francis and I will need to get to the tunnel for our performance," Grace said. "We'll really impress you with this performance."

"I hope so, because Brendan and I have something incredible for our performance," May said with a confident smile.

"We'll see, won't we," Grace said as she and Francis left for the stage.

When they left, May turned to Gwen. "Hey, will you be okay with Richard and his Murkrow here?"

 _Yeah, I'll be okay. I need to face this fear sooner or later, and there's no better time to do that than here with my best friends,_ Gwen said.

"Alright, just let us know if anything happens," May said with a caring, but concerned look.

It wasn't long before the fourth act ended. It was mediocre, with a Mightyena and a Dustox. They had made some fireworks with Shadow Ball and Psybeam together. It was now time for Grace and Francis.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time for some contest veterans to show their skills once again. Please welcome the husband and wife team of Grace and Francis Sinatra!" Vivian said. Now May and Brendan were watching intently as the older couple took the stage.

"Come on out, Arya!" Grace said as she sent out her Beautifly.

"Join her, Alfred!" Francis said. The Pokémon that came out was a gold and black Kricketune.

"It's the classic combination of Arya the Beautifly and Alfred the Kricketune who is occasionally called the Viola

"Now, start things off with Sweet Scent!" Grace said.

"Alfred, use Sing!" Francis said. The combination of the soothing scent and the beautiful melody from the two bug Pokémon made the entire crowd, including the usual trio of judges, relax and almost fall asleep.

"Now, Morning Sun!" Grace said. Arya's wings shimmered lightly as the sun's rays intensified and focused as a natural spotlight on Alfred. The entire audience was on the verge of dozing off.

Francis smiled. "Bug Buzz!" The singing then turned into a sharp shrieking, startling everybody in the contest hall almost out of their seats.

"Now, take a bow!" Grace and Francis both said. Arya landed next to Alfred before bowing to the audience and the judges. After catching their breath, the audience burst into applause.

"Wow, an unexpected combination of soothing, then startling us out of that daze. Let's see what the judges think of that performance!" Vivian said. The screen lit up and showed a score of 29.6 out of 30. "And it's just shy of a perfect score, but it's our highest of the contest. Great job to both Francis and Grace Sinatra!"

The couple walked off the stage and into the tunnel. May and Brendan just smiled to each other. That was a good show, but they knew theirs had it beat. There were only about six more performances from now until their act. "That was good," Lisia said thoughtfully. "But I don't think I would've gone that route of performance, but they pulled it off."

"Yeah, it was certainly attention grabbing. Let's just hope that nobody in the audience had a heart attack from the shock," Brendan said with a slight laugh. May just smiled too.

"Well, I hope so too, Francis and I don't have the money to pay for a lawsuit of that size," Grace said, having heard what Brendan had just said as they entered the waiting room again.

"But we made sure the timing was perfect so it didn't cause anything more harmful than an accelerated heart rate," Francis said with a charming smile. "But we'll just have to see how things go with you two. Grace told me that May has a very distinct style, so I look forward to your performance."

For the remainder of the appeals round, Brendan and May watched eagerly. There were very few routines that really stood out from the crowd, except for one routine that involved a Numel and a Shuppet, where they created shadowy fireworks with a Shadow Ball and Ember combination.

Now, however, it was time for Brendan and May to take the stage. Gwen, with a lot of protest, had gone into her Pokéball, but only to make an entrance. Unfortunately, Brendan knew this would earn him some nagging from the sassy psychic type later on. "Well, you ready for this?" he asked May.

"As ready as I'll ever be," May said with a grin.

Luckily they didn't have much longer to wait, as Vivian began to introduce them. "For our final duo, we have a couple of relatively new faces on the contest circuit. Please welcome May Birch and Brendan Maple!" The audience applauded politely as the two entered the stadium, while some gave cheers as they remembered May's Petalburg performance.

"Well, let's give them a show," Brendan said as he took out Gwen's Pokéball. "Gwen, come on out!"

"Lily, take the stage!" May called out. Both Gwen and Lily appeared in pretty poses.

"Now, you two know what to do!" Brendan said.

 _Right, Lily, the Silver Wind and Morning Sun!_ Gwen said, making sure to not speak to everybody in the audience. Lily flew into the air and began to beat her wings, sending out sickles of glowing silver air. At the same time, Gwen's Confusion spun the Silver Wind into a tornado. Then she timed her Magical Leaf with Lily's Morning Sun perfectly so the tornado began to swirl with the colors of the rainbow. _And now for the secret finale!_

"Wait, what?" Brendan whispered. Gwen then sent another Magical Leaf attack into the sky, making them crash together and explode like fireworks. Brendan smiled. Of course Gwen would do something like this. Anything different would be weird for her. That was when Gwen broke the tornado with Confusion, making the air sparkle colorfully. Lily flew down and landed on Gwen's head, as Gwen curtsied. Then there was stunned silence for a few seconds, before it gave way to a massive roar and cheer from the audience. Gwen and Lily both turned to their trainers, Gwen was smiling, while Lily just made a really happy expression (one can only do so much without a mouth).

"What a way to finish off the appeals round. That looked like something that would be in a Grand Festival routine. Now, let's see what the judges thought of the performance," Vivian said as she looked up at the screen, only to see that the score was already up. "And we have our only perfect score of the night. Great job to both Brendan and May, and good luck in the battle round. There will now be a ten minute intermission while the judges determine who will be in the next round."

Brendan had Gwen riding on his shoulder as he entered the waiting room, with May by his side. That was when the applause from the other coordinators. Grace, Lisia, and Francis all looked very impressed. "Looks like you guys managed to keep your word. That was a spectacular performance," Grace said.

"Yeah, and that little addition at the end there, nice touch there Gwen," Lisia said.

"Wait, the fireworks **weren't** planned?" Francis asked.

"That's Gwen for you," Brendan said with a look at the little Pokémon, who simply stuck out her tongue at him.

They talked for a little bit longer before Vivian got on the mic again. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. We have our four pairs second round qualifiers and the match-ups. They are up on the screen right…now!"

Everybody went in front of the screen, seeing that the teams that had moved on were the Sinatras who were facing the Numel and Shuppet team, and Brendan and May, who were facing Richard and Hailey Johnson

 _Brendan,_ Gwen said uneasily, only addressing Brendan, and also May.

 _I know,_ Brendan said. _I know it'll be tough, but you have to face this fear sooner or later._

 _But in front of so many people,_ Gwen said.

 _Gwen, you know that I will not let anything happen to you. I know you can do this,_ Brendan said, putting as much confidence in his mental voice as he could. Gwen seemed to calm down a lot after he said that.

 _Okay, I'm trusting you,_ Gwen said.

Brendan took her off his shoulder and hugged her. _I'm glad to hear it. Now, we have a contest to win!_ he said.

Gwen looked at Brendan, a fire in her eyes. _Alright, let's do this,_ she said with newfound confidence. May just smiled as she once again saw the bond between Brendan and Gwen grow stronger. It made her think that they could truly achieve their dreams. But that was a thought for further in the future. Right now, they needed to focus on winning the second round of this contest.

 **Hey everybody, thanks for reading and for your patience with my slower writing. Although I was expecting to be writing a lot this summer, it seems that there have been a lot of things that are taking that time away, like work, gym membership, a few new books (these are usually where I get my ideas for how I can work a storyline), and watching Game of Thrones.**

 **Look forward to the next chapter (which will hopefully be done in two weeks at the latest). But until then, have some fun because it's summer!**

 **\- jmoul18**


	19. A Perfect Duo - Part 2

_A Perfect Duo – Part 2_

Brendan and May sat in the waiting room with Gwen fidgeting nervously as Grace and Francis got ready for their battle. The two trainers they were facing were named John Stiles and Jane Stanley. Jane was Shuppet's trainer and she wore a pitch black silk dress that reflected the light very well. John, Numel's trainer, wore an orange vest tuxedo.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. Now, it's time for the battle rounds. Our first match is between Grace and Frank Sinatra, and the team of Jane Stanley and John Stiles," Vivian said as the two teams took their positions on the two sides and the audience applauded. "Each battle will be five minutes, or until one team runs out of points. Are both teams ready?" Both teams nodded confidently. "Then begin!" Francis and Grace sent out Alfred and Arya respectively.

"Come on out, Leo!" John called out, releasing his Numel.

"Join him, Hazel!" Jane said, sending out her Shuppet.

"Arya, let's start this off with a Silver Wind!" Grace called out.

"Alfred, use Bug Buzz!" Francis said calmly. The cricket Pokémon began to make loud, shrill noise. Meanwhile, Arya began to beat her wings, sending sickles of silver dust at the opponent's Pokémon.

"Leo, counter with Flame Burst on Alfred!" John called out.

"Hazel, use Confuse Ray on Arya," Jane said. Leo spat out a small ball of flames that flew across the stage at Alfred. It was about to hit its target when Francis acted.

"Use Wide Guard!" Francis said, knowing that Flame Burst would affect Arya as well. Alfred acted quickly, a field of light appeared in front of both himself and Arya, and the ball of flame simply bounced off, exploding in midair. Unfortunately, the wispy ball of energy from Shuppet went through the field without trouble, orbiting Arya and disorienting her.

"Arya, try to use Flash!" Grace said. Arya, who was now feeling the full effects of the confuse ray, barely heard her trainer's calls. Thankfully, she could still spread her wings, which quickly began to glow with a blinding white light. Only Alfred was able to look away in time, while Leo and Hazel were both blinded by the light.

"Great job you two, now Alfred, use Bug Buzz!" Francis said. Alfred buzzed loudly disorienting the two opponents again. That, however, wasn't the only buzzing that could be heard. The other buzzing was the signal that the match's clock had run out.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, let's take a look at the scoreboard and see who our winner is!" Vivian said. The entire audience looked at the board, and the results were clear. John and Jane were at about a quarter of their starting points, while Grace and Francis were just below half of theirs. "And it seems that Grace and Francis are our winners for this round!"

"Knew it," May said.

 _Of course they won,_ Gwen said, with a slight grin, but Brendan could tell that the upcoming match was still bothering her.

"Brendan, May, Richard, and Hailey. You're on," said the event coordinator.

Brendan looked at Gwen and lowered his shoulder to her level. "Hop on Gwen. You should make the entrance as we normally travel!" Gwen seemed to relax a lot at that.

 _Thanks Brendan,_ Gwen said as she leapt onto his shoulder like she always did as a Ralts.

May then walked up to Brendan. "Then let me take your other side," she said as she put her hand under his and took hold of the crook of his elbow. Brendan smiled before May leaned in and kissed him lightly. "And there's some added confidence for you."

Brendan smiled and he led May to the stage. They arrived just as Vivian was preparing to call their names.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen. It's time for our last semifinal match up. On the right we have the sibling team of Richard and Hailey Johnson!" Vivian said, and that team entered the stage to the audience's applause. "And for the next team, please welcome May Birch and Brendan Maple!" Brendan looked at May with a smile and they walked onto the stage, the crowd cheering loudly.

Gwen, however, was still feeling nervous deep down about facing this Murkrow. It had been more than a year, but the fear was still so strong. Even with Brendan's reassuring words, she still couldn't keep the fear down for very long.

"We'll now begin the match. Five minutes on the clock. GO!" Vivian said.

"Al, show 'em what you can do," Richard said as he sent out his Murkrow.

"Gina, let's dance!" Hailey said. Her Girafarig coming out with a sort of whinny.

"Lily, take the stage!" May said as Lily materialized on the field.

Brendan looked at Gwen with an encouraging smile, as if he was saying 'You can do this. I believe in you.' Gwen smiled back before Brendan gave his command. "Gwen, dazzle them!" Brendan said. Gwen leapt from her trainer's shoulder, did a midair twirl, and landed gracefully beside Lily.

"We'll start things off," Hailey said. "Gina, use Stomp!" The dual headed Pokémon ran at Gwen with her hooves glowing white.

"Gwen, Double Team, let's go!" Brendan called. Gwen smirked as she teleported out of Gina's path, leaving an illusory clone of herself behind, while multiple more clones appeared around the stadium, causing Gina to get confused.

"Lily, Silver Wind on Gina," May said. Lily flew over the Girafarig and began to beat her wings quickly, sending silver scythes toward the Psychic type. The attack hit their target, sending her into the ground, but it wasn't strong enough to end it there.

"Al, use Brave Bird on Lily!" Richard said. Gwen's eyes flew wide in worry.

 _No, don't you dare!_ Gwen said loudly. The entire audience gasped at hearing a Pokémon actually speak.

"Gwen, use Disarming Voice to stop that attack!" Brendan said. Gwen didn't need to be told twice as she shrieked loudly, sending sonic waves at the crow Pokémon.

 _I will not let you hit any of my friends with that attack!_ Gwen shouted as she attacked. Her shouting was shockingly powerful, especially for a contest battle, but it did the job and made Al flinch, effectively stopping the attack.

"Gwen use Calm Mind, please relax!" Brendan said. Gwen heard him and knew he was right. She, and all her clones, stood in a yoga position and took deep breaths with their eyes closed. A greenish glow came from Gwen as she meditated.

 _This is only a contest_ , Gwen said to herself. _Brendan's right. I can't lose control here._

"Gina, Future Sight!" Hailey said confidently. The giraffe Pokémon's eyes glowed blue temporarily, but nothing happened…yet.

"Alright Lily, use Silver Wind on Al!" May called out. Lily turned to Al and began to beat her wings hard, sending sickles of glowing wind at the gangster bird.

"Al, dodge it and use Brave Bird on Gwen!" Richard said. Al did what he was told, doing a barrel roll into a nearly vertical dive above Gwen, flames wrapping around the bird.

"Gwen, Teleport, then use Disarming Voice!" Brendan said, trying to have a calm tone of voice. Gwen, who was still meditating, didn't even open her eyes. She just disappeared as Al was about to land a hit. This caused the bird to run headfirst into the ground. It took him a second to recover, but that was a second too long. Gwen had reappeared right behind Al and shrieked at the top of her lungs. Al had no time to react, and was sent flying across the field, right into Gina.

"Now, Lily, use another Silver Wind on both of them!" May said. However, Lily never got the chance to fire off the attack. A large ball of psychic energy materialized in front of Lily and flew directly at her, knocking her back a few feet.

Brendan gritted his teeth. "Gwen, finish this with another Disarming Voice!" he called out. Gwen complied, sending another sonic wave at the opponents. The impact kicked up dust and left the crowd in stunned silence.

May was about to give another command, but she was interrupted by the buzzer. "It looks like that's it folks. Richard and Hailey are out of points, and the clock has hit zero. Congrats to Brendan and May for advancing to the final round!" Vivian said. The audience applauded as Gwen leapt onto Brendan's shoulder and May recalled Lily to her Pokéball. The two walked back into the tunnel as Vivian made her next announcement. "There will now be another ten minute intermission to give the finalists a chance to rest before their battle."

Those ten minutes passed all too quickly for the four finalists. The two couples now stood at opposite ends of the field with their Pokémon already out, the battle having just begun. Alfred and Arya were both out, as well as Gwen and Lily. This match would be one to remember.

"Gwen, you and I will start this match with Psychic on Alfred!" Brendan said. Gwen smiled as a blue aura surrounded her, sending a wave of energy at Alfred, gripping the bug tightly before throwing him into the air.

"Arya, use Bug Buzz on Gwen!" Grace called out. Arya's wings began to vibrate loudly, disorienting Gwen slightly.

 _Brendan, May, somebody help!_ Gwen said as she covered her ears.

"Lily, use Gust on both Alfred and Arya!" May said. Lily began to beat her wings hard, sending a small tornado at the two bugs. It caught Arya, ending the auditory assault on Gwen. Francis and Alfred, however, had other plans.

"Alfred, use Aerial Ace on Lily!" Francis said. The cricket Pokémon landed deftly on his feet before leaping toward Lily, his front legs glowing brightly, ready to strike.

"Gwen, use Psychic to stop that Aerial Ace!" Brendan said. Gwen smiled as she glowed blue and extended her hand. Alfred was mere inches from Lily when he stopped cold. Gwen then whipped her hand toward the ground and Alfred followed the path.

"Arya, Morning Sun!" Grace called out. From inside the tornado, a beam of sunlight streamed through, making the gust glitter beautifully. "Now spin and use Silver Wind!" The tornado broke apart as sickles of wind sliced through it proceeding to hit Lily and just barely missed Gwen. Brendan looked up at the scoreboard, and he saw that they were currently both dead even, at the halfway point with three minutes left.

"Gwen, use Disarming Voice on both of them!" Brendan called out. Gwen shrieked loudly twice, first at Alfred, then at Arya. Neither bug had enough time to get out of the way of the sonic waves. They both recoiled, sending them skidding (or in Arya's case, spinning) across the battlefield.

"Arya, use Flash!" Grace said. Arya righted herself in the air and spread her wings, brilliant light shining from her wings, blinding not only Gwen and Lily, but Brendan and May as well.

"Gwen, I need you to use Psychic and stop Arya's attack!" Brendan said as he covered his eyes. Gwen, who was having enough trouble seeing herself, trusted her other senses to grab Arya with her psychic aura. That stopped Arya and the blinding light just before Gwen threw Arya to the ground.

 _Arya, you're a friend, but don't you ever blind me like that again!_ Gwen said as she rubbed her eyes. _I'll be seeing spots for a week or more_.

"Lily, use Gust and Silver Wind!" May said. Lily beat her wings again, sending a new, glittering tornado at the two bug types, this time it caught both of them. Two minutes left, with both sides only having about a third of their original points. Both Grace and Francis had worried looks on their faces.

"Gwen, use Magical Leaf!" Brendan called out. Gwen smiled, knowing what Brendan had in mind. The Gust was already in place, they just needed to give it more color. Gwen sent the rainbow colored leaves at the tornado, recreating the performance from the appeals round as the leaves entered the cloud and made it glow in rainbow colors.

"Lily, use Stun Spore!" May called out. Lily flew over the tornado, letting yellow spores fall from her wings, dusting the cloud, ensuring that Arya and Alfred were both hit.

"Now break that tornado up with Psychic!" Brendan said, Gwen smiling slightly. Her body began to glow once more as she held up her hand, and the tornado dispersed. Both bugs fell to the ground, knocked out. The buzzer sounded as the judges all ruled a knock out. Grace and Francis looked shocked, but they weren't too disappointed.

"It looks like this contest is over. May and Brendan have won the Slateport City Contest!" Vivian said. "Let's give them a round of applause." The crowd cheered and applauded the duo.

"Wow, that was really fun!" May said. "It's too bad there aren't more doubles contests."

 _I know what you mean. I really enjoyed performing like that,_ Gwen said with a smile.

"And you guys really earned that win. I've never seen anybody use their appeals round performance in the battle round," Grace said as she and Francis crossed the field. "You two should be proud for winning today, but don't count on it next time, May!"

"We will see about that, won't we?" May said confidently.

Mr. Contesta approached May and Brendan with the two ribbons in-hand. "Congratulations to you two. You just showed a lot of skill and teamwork out there. Good luck in future contests," he said as he presented their ribbons to them.

"Thank you sir," Brendan said while May was beaming with joy. "We'll try to keep getting better!" With that, May and Gwen gave a cheer of happiness.

Even all the excitement of the contest the previous day didn't stop the fact that Brendan and May were on a journey across Hoenn. So, the next morning, Brendan and May were exciting Slateport and heading toward Route 111.

"Wow, this is a pretty long route," Brendan said. "I just wish I could have a bike so we could ride on the cycling path up top."

"Where's the fun in that?" May asked. "Besides, there could be Pokémon we want to catch here."

 _Yeah Goldenrod! Why would you want to skip out on the adventures this route has to offer?_

Brendan smiled in some slight defeat. "Alright, besides, we won't be able to get on the road anyway. The sign says that it's only for bike riders." As they continued, they both saw a very…strange house in the distance. It was loud in its color scheme, and it had some weird designs in those colors.

 _What is that?_ Gwen asked.

"Oh, that?" May asked. "That's the Trick House. It's a very weird house that belongs to the Trick Master. Somehow he turns his house upside down to make mazes for people to explore. He's always extremely quirky."

"So it's a no-go?" Brendan asked.

"For me, yes. We should avoid it for now. Maybe come back later as tourists or something," May said with a grimace.

The duo kept going through the route for a while, diverting to Route 103's eastern half where they had a few battles with random trainers on the route. They then returned to route 111, and continued through the grassy area. They were about halfway to the next city when May stopped walking.

Brendan turned around to face her. "Something wrong May?"

May just shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking that we haven't had a battle since we were in Rustboro City, and the contest just showed me how well we battle as a team. Now I want to see how well we do battling each other," she said.

 _I'm down for a friendly battle,_ Gwen said.

"So am I," Brendan said. "I'm ready to start whenever you are."

May picked her first Pokéball from her belt. "Then pick your first Pokémon and let's start," she said before throwing out her Pokéball. "Go, Graham!" The little Wingull appeared with a chirp.

Brendan smiled. "Go Nikki!" he said as he threw out his first Pokéball, letting out the sloth Pokémon. "Now let's go!"

 **Thanks for your patience with this chapter. Summer is a busy time for me, and it was especially busy for the past few weeks. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, just be polite and constructive.**

 **Anyway, that's all for now. Next time are the battles between Brendan and May, then Brendan and Wally.**

 **Until then, enjoy the warm weather.**


	20. Lighthearted Rivalry

_Lighthearted Rivalry_

"I'll start this battle off!" May said. "Graham, use Wing Attack!" Graham leapt at Nikki with his wings spread wide as they began to glow.

"Nikki, dodge that and use Fury Swipes," Brendan said. Nikki waited for a few seconds as Graham was about to leap to the side as Graham passed by. Nikki then swiped her claws at Graham quickly.

"Perfect, now use Supersonic!" May called out. Graham shrieked at a high pitch, sending a golden sonic wave at Nikki before the first swipe could strike. It hit its mark, causing Nikki to begin to stumble around in a daze.

"Damn," Brendan said. "We'll have to do this the hard way now. Nikki, use Bulk Up!" Nikki took a deep breath as her body seemed to get larger. A red aura surrounded Nikki, showing her increase in attack and defense power.

"Graham, use Water Gun!" May said. Graham spat a bullet made of water at Nikki, which went really fast.

"Nikki, try to dodge, then use Fury Swipes!" Brendan said. Nikki heard him, and was thankfully able to do what he commanded. Unfortunately she still took the Water Gun to her chest, but it seemed to barely phase her. She then leapt at Graham with her arms spread wide. She then began to slash and scratch Graham with her claws repeatedly. It wasn't long before Graham was on the ground, knocked out.

"Graham, return!" May said as she had the seagull Pokémon come back to his Pokéball. "Thank you for fighting so hard. Now rest up." She put Graham's Pokéball back on her belt as she pulled out her next Pokéball. "Come on out Erza!" she called out. The little steel type came out, and she looked ready for battle.

"Alright, Nikki, use Bulk Up!" Brendan said. Once again, Nikki seemed to get larger as she inhaled, getting a red aura around her, marking her boost in attack and defense.

"Mud Slap!" May said with a smirk. Erza kicked the ground, sending a pile of mud at Nikki, and it hit her directly in the eyes. "If you can't hit us, there's no point in having all that attack if you can't hit us."

"We can still try. Fury Swipes!" Brendan said. Nikki, whose eyes were still closed, began stumbling toward Erza, her sight blurry from the mud. She slashed out early, and missed her mark.

May smirked again. "Headbutt!" she said. Erza charged and leapt at Nikki, hitting the sloth like a hammer, and forcing her back. "Now Metal Claw!" Erza's foot began to glitter like polished steel as she swiped it across Nikki's chest, sending the sloth tumbling toward Brendan. Nikki came to a stop a few inches away from Brendan's feet, and she was knocked out.

"Return Nikki!" Brendan said as he had her go back to her Pokéball. "You fought bravely, now rest up." He took out Clint's Pokéball. "Let's go Clint!" Clint showed up and pulled a stalk of grass from the ground, placing it in his mouth. "Now, start with Mega Drain!" three tendrils of green energy extended toward Erza, and they were moving too fast for May to react. They attached and began to glow even more vibrantly.

"Erza, use Headbutt!" May said. She hoped that a retaliation would stop the attack. Erza began to run at Clint, her head down. Clint stopped his attack, but only so he could dodge the incoming attack.

"Nice job Clint!" Brendan said. "Now, use Bullet Seed!" Clint spat out a stream of seeds which hit their mark. Erza grimaced as she took the attack.

"Rock Tomb!" May said. Erza stepped on the ground hard, causing four boulders to shoot out of the ground around Clint, pressing tightly and restricting his movement, and cutting off the Bullet Seed.

"Break out with Fury Cutter!" Brendan called out. Clint's forearm leaves began to glow a yellow green as he spun, cutting the rocks into pieces. "Now use Bullet Seed again!" Clint once again fired a stream of seeds at Erza. "Use Agility and don't let her pin you down!" Clint began to run around the battlefield, firing more seeds as he moved. Erza didn't last much longer under the attack, and May couldn't get a plan together in time. Erza collapsed to the ground and Clint stopped his attack.

"Return Erza," May said, the Pokémon went back to her Pokéball as May pulled out Lily's Pokéball. "Erza, you fought well. Now, you're up Lily!" The butterfly Pokémon appeared, her wings spread wide. "Alright Lily, use Silver Wind!" Lily behaved as if she was in a contest, beating her wings quickly and sending scythes of wind at Clint.

"Clint, dodge and use Fury Cutter!" Brendan said. Clint leapt to the side and rolled before leaping at Lily, his forearm leaves glowing yellow-green again. He began to slash Lily almost mercilessly.

"Lily, Flash!" May called out. Lily's wings began to glow brilliantly, blinding Clint as he got within a few inches of his target. Lily simply fluttered to the side and dodged the incoming attack.

"Clint, use Quick Attack!" Brendan said.

May simply rolled her eyes in an almost sassy manner. "Now, use Gust!" May said. Lily sent a large tornado of dust at Clint whose now bloodshot eyes had not yet fully recovered from the Flash, couldn't move in time, and he was caught in the whirlwind.

"Clint, try to escape with Fury Cutter!" Brendan called. Unfortunately, Clint couldn't move. The tornado spun for about a minute before dropping Clint and dissipating. Clint, however, was not going to get back into the fight. "Clint, return!" Brendan said as he held out Clint's Pokéball, recalling the gecko Pokémon. He then looked to Gwen, who was currently laid back in a pile of grass that she matted down for bedding of sorts.

 _Is it my turn now?_ she asked with an impatient tone.

"Yes it is. You ready?" Brendan said.

 _Of course, let's do this,_ she said as she leapt from her bedding and levitated to the ground gracefully.

"Alright, Gwen, use Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. Gwen shrieked loudly, sending a sonic wave at Lily. It flew quickly, striking hard, and sending the Beautifly spiraling through the air. "Now use Psychic!" Gwen began to glow with blue aura, which then surrounded Lily, extended her hand, and swiped it toward the ground. Lily followed the path of Gwen's hand, crashing into the dirt.

"Lily!" May called out. It was too late, though. The attack had been too powerful for Lily to take. She was exhausted, and now she was out cold. May sighed. "You fought bravely, now, return and get some rest." She recalled Lily to her Pokéball, and placed it back on her belt. She then got her last Pokéball and threw it into the air. "Miranda, you're up!" The energetic Combusken came out of her Pokéball, and she looked ready to battle.

 _Well, Miranda, I don't think we've ever had a battle against each other. Let's make this one to remember_ , Gwen said. Miranda nodded.

"Miranda, Flame Charge!" May said. Miranda's body became coated in flames as she sprinted toward Gwen.

"Gwen, use Double Team," Brendan said. Gwen smirked as multiple copies of her appeared around the makeshift battlefield. Miranda sprinted through one after another. The number of Gwen's copies kept decreasing. All the while, Miranda was steadily getting faster.

"Alright Miranda, use Peck!" May called out. Miranda's beak began to glow white as she sprinted toward one of the two remaining copies of Gwen.

"Gwen, use Calm Mind!" Brendan called out. The two Gwens both began to glow with a green energy, increasing her special abilities. "Now, use Psychic!" Brendan said. Just as Miranda passed through the final copy, she was caught with the blue aura of Gwen's power. Miranda was then thrown back across the ground before she crashed into the sea wall.

"Flame Charge!" May said. Miranda sprinted at Gwen, her body covered in flames.

"Gwen, teleport!" Brendan said. Gwen vanished as Miranda passed by, only to reappear right behind Miranda.

"Miranda, Bulk Up!" May called. Miranda was surrounded by a red aura, showing an increase in physical strength. "Now, use another Flame Charge!" Miranda sprinted at Gwen with flames coating her entire body.

"Gwen, Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. Gwen shrieked loudly as Miranda closed in. The soundwave hit its mark, but Miranda kept barreling through toward Gwen.

 _Damn it!_ Gwen shouted as Miranda collided with her. Both of them went flying, only to land in a heap. Both were out.

"Huh," Brendan said. "I, uh, guess it's a tie."

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that," May said. "But it was a fun battle."

With that, the duo began to treat their Pokémon with Revives, and Super Potions that they had bought with the prize money from the contest. None of the injuries were too serious, so they were able to heal all of the injuries without trouble.

Once they finished with healing their Pokémon, the two trainers continued on their way, Gwen skipping happily along with them. Their next goal was just barely visible in the distance: Mauville City.

"So, how much do you know about Mauville?" Brendan asked.

"Not too much, just that it's a very technological city. Heck, the entire city is just one big mall, with apartments on the second floor. There's supposed to be a really good bike shop there too," May said.

 _Well, I would really like to ride a bike,_ Gwen said.

"Have you ever ridden one?" Brendan asked with a smile.

 _No, I can't, but I've watched a lot of people riding them, and I think it would be fun,_ she replied.

"Well, you may not be able to ride one, since they're designed for humans," Brendan said. "But then, you are one of the humanoid Pokémon, so it could work."

 _Awesome!_ Gwen said. _Could you teach me how to ride?_

"How about I teach you once you evolve so you can get an adult bike," Brendan said.

Gwen pouted a little just to make Brendan feel guilty, but she understood his reasoning. _Fine, but you will have a basket in the front for me to ride in. And you will make it as girly as possible._

"Okay," Brendan said without hesitation. "But it comes off after you evolve."

May giggled at the shenanigans the two got into routinely. Even though she was really close with her own Pokémon, Miranda especially, there was just something different about how Brendan and Gwen interacted. It was still fun to watch.

The three continued to walk and converse until they reached the gates to the city. That was where they saw a face that Brendan was familiar with. Wally was standing with an older man, and they seemed to be arguing. Brendan was about to call to him, but Wally and the man walked away.

"Brendan, who was that? It looked like you were about to call to him," May asked.

"You remember when I told you about the time I helped a kid catch a Ralts in Petalburg? That was him just now. Not sure what he's doing here though."

"Well, then let's catch up to him," May said. They duo went through the city, seeing a couple kiosks, but none had anything really useful. There was also a food court, but it seemed that people were battling there. For now, they avoided the place. They would check it out after they'd met up with Wally. They then passed through the courtyard, which had the Pokémon Center and PokéMart, as well as a miniature version of Prism Tower in Lumiose City in Kalos.

"Wow, why is this city so modernized?" Brendan asked.

"That's because of the Gym Leader here. His name is Wattson, and he's a bit of a technology nut. He wanted to make this city more technological, so he began to renovate when he got permission from the city council. And he's made the generation of electricity environmentally friendly."

"Impressive," Brendan said. "I just hope he's strong when it comes to battle, I want a good gym battle."

May opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted by a rather loud, male voice. "ABSOLUTELY NOT! You aren't ready for such a challenge!" The trio shared a look before running toward the source. They quickly found that it was the older guy yelling at Wally in front of the gym entrance, which was so flashy that it would have fit perfectly in any of Unova's cities.

"But I've been training really hard, and this is the closest gym to home. If not now, when can I start taking on the gyms?" Wally protested.

"I don't know, but you need to get healthier," the man said.

"But, Uncle, you can see that I'm perfectly healthy now," Wally said. "My Pokémon and I are ready for this!"

"Hey Wally!" Brendan called out, hoping to help his friend and rival in this situation. "How've you been?"

Wally perked up a little bit upon hearing Brendan's voice. "Brendan, I didn't expect to see you here!"

Wally's uncle raised his eyebrow, but remained silent. Gwen followed Brendan. _Hey Wally, how's Sam doing?_

"He's doing really well. Here, why don't you two catch up," Wally said as he took out his Pokéball. What came out was not a Ralts or a Kirlia. He was a Gallade. Brendan and May both looked impressed by one of the two final evolutions in the Ralts line. Gwen, however, was looking almost jealous.

 _Well, you've gotten bigger,_ Gwen said, not really looking at her old friend. She paused for a little as Samuel spoke like a normal Pokémon. _Yeah, go on and rub it in that you could evolve from a Dawn Stone while I have to do it through training. I'm still stronger, since I'm still a fairy type._

Brendan just looked at Wally. "So how have you been since Petalburg?"

"Well, I've been training a lot, but I haven't challenged any gyms yet. Mostly because I was still getting healthy," he said with some slight hesitation. "But I'm fine now, and I want to start traveling. My family, however, doesn't really agree with me. They want me to wait more. None of them think I'm ready, but Paul and Sam have both gotten stronger, and I even caught a Fletchling, who evolved into a Fletchinder. His name is Jet."

May decided to join in at this point, and she was slightly annoyed because she wasn't actually. "Excuse me, Brendan, are you going to introduce me?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Brendan said. "Wally, this is my girlfriend, May. May, this is Wally. I helped him catch Samuel back on Route 102. We've kind of been rivals ever since."

Wally extended his hand to May. "It's a pleasure to meet you May," he said. "I wish we could have met in Petalburg, but I guess now is as good of a time as any."

 _OH YEAH? WELL WHY DON'T YOU PROVE IT THEN!_ Gwen shouted out of nowhere, and she was almost glaring at Sam.

"Gwen, what was that about?" Brendan asked.

 _This jerk keeps saying that he could beat me in a battle without trying. Let's prove him wrong!_ Gwen said.

"Actually, I was about to ask you to battle me," Wally said to Brendan. "Why don't we have a best of three rounds battle?"

"Okay, but let's save Gwen and Sam for the last round," Brendan said.

"Agreed," Wally said. "Let's go out to route 111 for our battle. We don't want to damage the city, you know?"

 _Fine, I'm okay with that!_ Gwen said.

The group, including Wally's uncle, went outside of Mauville City, where Brendan and Wally took positions across from each other, leaving a space just wide enough for a battle. Gwen and Sam both stood just behind their respective trainers "Alright Wally, I'll pick my Pokémon first," Brendan said. "Nikki, you're up!" The Vigoroth appeared, and she looked prepared for battle.

"Okay, let's go Jet!" Wally said as he sent out his Fletchinder.

"Alright, Wally, you can have the first attack," Brendan said.

"Jet, use Flame Charge!" Wally called. Jet reared back, became coated in fire as he flew at Nikki.

"Nikki, dodge and use Fury Swipes," Brendan said. Jet kept flying toward Nikki, picking up speed steadily. Nikki rolled to the side as the flaming hawk passed by. When the flames dissipated, she leapt forward, swinging her claws repeatedly. Jet, however, was doing a fantastic job of dodging the furious attacks.

"Alright Jet, use Peck!" Wally said. Jet began to jab his beak at Nikki. The sloth and hawk began to trade blows. In fact, the power of the attacks was almost equally balanced.

"Nikki, time to use Rock Tomb!" Brendan called. May's eyes went wide. If Nikki knew Rock Tomb, why didn't Brendan have her use it during their battle earlier today? She decided that she would ask him about it later. Nikki stomped the ground, causing four rocks to erupt from the ground, each one hitting a point on Jet.

Jet struggled to stay in the air and his will was strong enough that he could stay up, despite clearly having felt the attack.

"Jet, use Steel Wing!" Wally called. Jet's wings began to gleam like polished metal as he flew at Nikki quickly, hitting her hard in the stomach. Nikki staggered back from the force of the hit.

"Nikki, use Fury Swipes again!" Brendan called out. Nikki leapt at Jet, slashing wildly.

"Jet, use Ember!" Wally called out passionately. Jet spat out a ball of fire just as Nikki was about to start her attacks. This attack caused Nikki to trip and fall to the ground, where she passed out.

Brendan was startled to say the least. Wally, the kid who had no confidence in himself and spoke with a stutter less than two months ago had just won the first round of their battle. "That was really impressive Wally. You've definitely raised that Fletchinder well," he said.

"Th-thanks," Wally said, his stutter returning slightly, but only from the surprise of what had just happened.

 _What the heck Goldenrod? Now Sam has an advantage over us,_ Gwen said angrily.

"Don't worry Gwen, remember who is next?" Brendan said. "Wally, you send out your next Pokémon first for this round."

"Come on out Paul!" Wally said as he threw his next Pokéball. The Pokémon that appeared was a bipedal mudfish.

"So, Paul evolved into a Marshtomp," May said. "I remember him always being timid when he was still in my dad's lab, but now he looks incredibly confident."

"Well, I never met Paul before, but he knows my next Pokémon," Brendan said. "Come on out Clint!" The wood gecko Pokémon appeared, his eyes going slightly wider as he recognized his old friend.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You got a Treecko from Professor Birch," Wally said. "I guess these two haven't seen each other in a while, so let's make this a battle for them to remember."

"Sounds good, you take the first attack," Brendan said.

"Sounds good. Paul, use Mud Shot!" Wally called out. Paul fired a large ball of mud at Clint, and the attack moved quickly.

"Clint, use Agility, then use Mega Drain!" Brendan said. Clint seemed to vanish from sight just as the attack was about to land. He then reappeared and sent tendrils of green energy toward Paul. They connected and began to glow in a brighter neon color. Paul began to cry out as the attack did serious damage.

"Paul, stop the attack with another Mud Shot!" Wally said. Paul fired another ball of mud, this one hitting Clint in the chest, sending him stumbling, and slowing him down significantly.

"Clint, use Agility once again, then use Fury Cutter!" Brendan said. Clint disappeared once again, only to reappear behind Paul with his forearm leaves glowing a green yellow color. Clint swiped the claw across his body, sending Paul skidding across the ground.

"Paul, use Water Gun!" Wally called out. Paul spat out a stream of water, hitting Clint in the chest, but the attack didn't seem to do anything to Clint, who simply sat kept slashing at Paul relentlessly, each cut getting stronger. On the fifth slash, Paul was sent flying back, and it crashed into the trunk of a nearby pine tree.

"Paul!" Wally called out. "Are you okay?" Paul, however, had passed out. Wally sighed and pulled out Paul's Pokéball. "You fought well, now return and get some rest!" Paul was brought back into his Pokéball. "I guess I should have seen that one coming," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hey, you fought well there, and you were very creative with your attacks. But now, it's time for the main event," Brendan said before turning to Gwen. "You ready to battle?"

 _You even need to ask? I need to put Sam in his place,_ Gwen said as she brushed some hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"Alright, then let's do this," Brendan said.

"Sam, you too, get out there," Wally said.

"Hey, Wally, I have to ask, how do you already have a Gallade?" May asked.

Wally smiled slightly. "Thing is, I've been volunteering at the Pokémon Day Care every once in a while. They helped me train in exchange for me helping them. Then, once Sam evolved, they gave me a Dawn Stone as additional thanks. I used it shortly after that so he could start getting used to being a Gallade as soon as possible.

"I see," Brendan said. "Well, even though Gwen doesn't have the option of a Dawn Stone for evolution, she's still scary strong."

 _And I have a bit of a score to settle with that jerk,_ Gwen said only to Brendan.

"Well, let's start this off," Wally said. "Sam, use Swords Dance!" Sam began to glow red as illusory swords appeared and circled around him, increasing his attacking power significantly.

"Gwen use Calm Mind!" Gwen closed her eyes and took on a green glow as she boosted her special abilities. "One more time, use Calm Mind!" Gwen kept her eyes closed as her power continued to increase.

"Sam, use Fury Cutter!" Wally called. Sam's arms began to glow like Clint's usually did when using Fury Cutter. He then sprinted at Gwen with his arms raised.

"Gwen, use Double Team repeatedly!" Brendan called out. Multiple copies of Gwen appeared around the field, and Sam sliced through one of the copies, but that was only to be replaced by two more.

"Sam, focus and try to find her, then use Disarming Voice!" Wally called out. Sam closed his eyes this time, focusing his mind, searching for the real Gwen among the clones.

"Gwen, use your own Disarming Voice before he get the chance!" Brendan called out. Gwen was more than happy to oblige as she shrieked loudly, sending a powerful sonic wave at Sam.

"Sam, cancel it out with your own Disarming Voice!" Wally said. Sam also shrieked loudly, but when his sonic wave collided with Gwen's it was pushed back until it was within a few inches of Sam. "Cut through those with Fury Cutter, then go after Gwen!" Sam did as commanded, his arms glowing brightly as he cut through the incoming waves, which exploded to the sides. He then sprinted at one of the multitude of Gwens spread across the field.

"Gwen, use Psychic!" Brendan called out. Gwen took on her usual blue aura when she used the attack, and Sam was gripped by it and stopped in his tracks. "Now throw him!" Sam went flying across the field toward a tree. Sam managed to adjust himself so his feet hit the trunk first before he leapt forward toward another Gwen. This time, his Fury Cutter hit the real Gwen, sending her tumbling across the field.

 _Ah, damn it that hurt!_ Gwen said. _Hey Brendan, can we finish this soon. I don't think I can take another hit like that one._

"Yeah, of course," Brendan said. "Use one more Calm Mind!" Gwen smirked as she closed her eyes and began to meditate again. She started to glow green as her special abilities increased once more.

Wally's eyes went wide. "Sam, use another Fury Cutter quickly!" Sam heard the urgency in Wally's voice, and leapt at Gwen with his arms raised for his next attack. He was about to execute the attack when Brendan gave his last attack.

"Disarming Voice, now!" Brendan called out. Gwen shrieked again, the resulting sonic wave was incredibly powerful. It sent Sam hurtling through the air before he struck the ground hard. That was where he passed out.

"It seems the battle is over," Wally said disappointedly as he recalled Sam to his Pokéball. "You were amazing Sam. Now, take a good rest." Wally sighed, looking really disappointed in himself.

"Hey, don't get down on yourself Wally," Brendan said. "Your Pokémon were amazing. You had me scared a few times in that battle. You should be proud."

Wally's uncle seemed disinterested. "Well, Wally, what do you think now? Do you really think you're ready to challenge the league?"

"Actually yes," Wally said, which only earned an eye roll from his uncle.

"You couldn't beat a trainer who isn't a league certified gym leader," his uncle said. "You need to get healthier and train more before you even consider taking on the League."

"Hold on," Brendan interjected. "First of all, league certification has little to do with strength as a trainer. And secondly, my father is the new leader in Petalburg City." This got Wally's uncle's attention. "Besides, that was a very close battle. Maybe you should have more faith in your nephew instead of telling him he's not ready to challenge the league. I can tell you that he's got a lot of talent for training Pokémon."

Wally's uncle glared at Brendan for a while. "Fine, Wally, if you feel ready, you can go on your journey and do as you please. I'd like to see you prove me wrong, but I'll be back home with a big old plate of 'I-told-you-so' if you can't make it." With that, Wally's uncle left the three trainers and Gwen, and he walked toward Mauville City, and then began walking west.

"Hey, thanks for that," Wally said. "I've been trying to convince my uncle to let me go on a journey, but he's been stubbornly refusing for a month now."

"It was no problem," Brendan said.

"Anyway, we should head to the Pokémon Center before we continue this conversation," May said.

 _I completely agree,_ Gwen said. _After all, I'm getting pretty hungry, and I'd like to rest up after having two intense battles today._ Brendan smiled at her.

"Sure, just hop onto my shoulder and we'll get there in no time," he said. Gwen smiled as she leapt onto Brendan's shoulder.

 _Alright, full speed ahead to the Pokémon Center!_ Gwen said loudly, pointing toward Mauville's central courtyard. With that, all three trainers made their way to the Pokémon Center, ready for a meal and a rest.

 **Thanks for reading. As always, reviews are more than welcome, just keep criticism constructive and tell me where I can improve my writing.**

 **Before I get any comments about Wally having the wrong team, I will address that: I buffed Wally's team to make the battle more intense, and to eventually give him a stronger team for the League tournament.**

 **Until next time.**

 **jmoul18**


	21. It's an O-phish-al Match

_It's an O-phish-al Match_

The next day, the three trainers woke up and decided to go to train on Route 117 to prepare for the upcoming battles and contests. When they got there, Brendan and May both couldn't believe how beautiful it was. There were multiple tall trees, and two ponds. To the north, there was a small building with a massive fenced-in area that was full of Pokémon. At one part of the fence that was close to the house stood an elderly gentleman who waved to Wally as they passed.

"You know that guy?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah, he and his wife run the Pokémon Day Care," Wally said. "He's actually the one who gave me the Dawn Stone for Sam." They continued on, Wally waving to multiple other trainers and one breeder as they passed by.

"You trained with these people a lot, didn't you?" May asked Wally.

"Yeah, this is where I did the bulk of my training recently," Wally said. "Anyway, I actually did plan to meet with a training friend today for a rematch, so I'm going to head over there. Good luck to you two over here."

"Thanks, and good luck in your rematch!" Brendan said. Wally waved as he departed, heading west toward Verdenturf Town.

"So, May, where do you want to start?" Brendan asked.

"Why don't we explore the grassy areas first," she said enthusiastically. "Then we battle some other trainers, and then we head back to Mauville for lunch at their food court."

"Well, that sounds like a plan and a half," Brendan said.

 _Yeah, I like it too,_ Gwen said. _By the way Brendan, there are some really strong Pokémon here too._

"Alright, May, do you want to go together, or search separately?" Brendan asked.

"I say separately. If we start to search together, we will only scare the Pokémon away," she said.

Brendan just nodded in understanding. "Alright, just remember to call or text me when you're ready to meet up again."

"Of course," May said before she went to the northern portion of the route.

"Alright Gwen, I say we go toward one of the ponds and see how it goes," Brendan said.

 _Sounds good, and I will gladly battle if I need to,_ Gwen said. Brendan began to walk into the grass, Gwen not far behind. There were a couple Oddish and even one Rosalia who appeared, but Brendan already had a powerful grass-type with Clint. He needed something else for a more diverse team.

 _Hey, Goldenrod, I think I sense someone strong nearby_ , Gwen said.

"Oh?" Brendan said, lowering his voice so he wouldn't be heard.

 _Yeah, I think it's a water type._

"Nice, we could use a water type on the team," Brendan said.

 _I know, let's go for it,_ Gwen said. Brendan advanced forward, heading toward the pond. When he got within a few feet of the edge of the pond he saw the Pokémon that Gwen was talking about.

It looked like a small, orange crawfish, and it was currently walking around in the shallows of the pond. Brendan pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

Corphish, the Ruffian Pokémon. Corphish were originally foreign Pokémon that were imported as pets. They eventually turned up in the wild. This Pokémon is very hardy and has greatly increased its population. Corphish catches prey with its sharp claws, and it has no likes or dislikes when it comes to food-it will eat anything. This Pokémon has no trouble living in filthy water.

"Huh, that sounds like a very sturdy Pokémon," Brendan said as he turned to Gwen. "You ready for a battle?"

 _Duh, of course I am!_ Gwen said.

"Good, then use Psychic," Brendan said. Gwen leapt out from the grass, her eyes and body aglow with the blue aura of her psychic power. The Corphish looked up in surprise, but then it took on a confident look, like it wanted to battle. That was when Gwen took hold of him. There was no chance of escape there, but Brendan could tell that this Pokémon didn't want to run. Gwen pulled it into the air, before slamming it into the ground. However, the Corphish used Harden just before impact. That reduced the damage significantly.

"So, it's smart about defense," Brendan noted. "That's good. Now, Gwen, use Disarming Voice!" Gwen shrieked loudly, the attack hit Corphish in the chest and sent it skidding across the ground. "Now, use Psychic once more, and hold that Corphish in place!" Brendan called out. The blue aura reappeared as Gwen used her power. Corphish froze in place, struggling to move against the psychic energy. Brendan pulled out an empty Pokéball from his bag's side pocket. "Alright, Corphish, you're mine!" he called as he threw it at the ruffian Pokémon.

Corphish's eyes widened slightly before the Pokéball hit its head perfectly. He was taken into the Pokéball, which bounced on the ground and began to roll around. The center button glowed red as it shook. On the third roll, the ball stopped and three sparks flew from the sides. The Pokémon had been captured.

"Alright!" Brendan cheered, and Gwen joined in. Brendan walked over to the Pokéball and picked it up. "Well, let's get out of the grass and find May. Then we can all meet this Corphish properly."

 _Okay, actually, I think May is starting to look for us now,_ Gwen said. _I'm not sure where she is exactly, but she's close._

"Thanks for letting me know," Brendan said. Gwen leapt on Brendan's shoulder, and the two walked out of the grass, and back onto the main path. Brendan saw both Wally and May conversing with the Day Care Man. They seemed to be having a lively talk when Brendan approached them.

"Hey Brendan," May called out. "How was the searching?"

Brendan smiled as he lifted the newly occupied Pokéball. "Well, time for us to officially meet our newest team member. Come on out!" he opened the Pokéball, letting out the Corphish, who gave a strong cry of almost defiance.

The Day Care Man leaned forward with interest. "Is that you Turk? So, looks like you finally got yourself a trainer," he said. His nametag gleamed in the light, so Brendan looked, seeing that the man's name was George

"Wait, you know this Corphish?" Brendan asked.

"Oh yes, I know **this** particular Corphish quite well. He is arguably the strongest Corphish on this route," George said. "You must be one hell of a trainer to have caught him."

"How do you mean?" Brendan asked.

"Well, Turk is one of the more aggressive battlers among the Corphish of this route, and Corphish are typically aggressive as a species," George said with a slight smile. "He occasionally breaks into our fence and tries to battle with the Pokémon of other trainers."

Brendan just chuckled. "Well, that's perfect for him being on my team," Brendan said as he knelt down beside Turk. "Hey, Turk, I know you don't know me, but you should know that my goal is to become champion of the Hoenn League. Since you like to battle, I think you and I will get along famously."

Turk looked over at Gwen, a very competitive look in his eyes. "Corphish-Cor-Corphish!" he said. Gwen nodded.

 _He says that he can't just take that defeat we handed him earlier, so he agrees to come along with us so long as he gets to battle me every once in a while,_ Gwen said.

Brendan chuckled. "Well, that's good to hear. Just don't go too overboard in your battles with each other," he said. Turk nodded his approval, but kept his competitive gaze fixed on Gwen. Brendan pulled out Turk's Pokéball and recalled him.

"Well, that's all I had planned for this route. I think it's time for me to go and challenge Wattson," Wally said.

Brendan looked over at his rival. "Well, that's a good idea. I'll challenge him after you do," he said confidently.

"I'm okay with that," Wally said before waving to the Day Care Man and departing with Brendan and May. "I'll see you around George."

"Stop by whenever you can, Wally!" George said. "Linda and I will be rooting for you in the league."

"Thanks for everything," Wally said.

Brendan and May followed Wally to Mauville City, and they went straight to the Pokémon Center, getting all their Pokémon restored to full health and energy, taking less than an hour before they were ready for the Gym.

"Wally, Brendan, are you two ready to go?" May asked with a smile.

"Definitely," Brendan said as he pushed the doors open. What they saw was a lot of electrical pylons around an official Pokémon League battlefield. Behind those were grand stands. At the back of the gym was a small platform, and on that platform stood an older gentleman with a white beard and white sideburns, and he was wearing a brown shirt with yellow lightning bolt patterns over four-leaf clovers.

"Well, it seems I have some new challengers. Welcome to the Mauville Gym!" he said. "Allow me to give a shocking introduction; I am the electric-type specialist, and the leader of this gym, Wattson. Wahahahahah!"

Brendan looked at Gwen with a raised eyebrow. _Did he seriously make a pun?_ Gwen said.

"I see three people there, but I don't know who I will be up against first. If you don't mind, I'd like to know the names of my challengers," Wattson said.

"Well, I'll be your first challenger of the day, and my name is Wally," he said.

"Perfect, and as for the lovely lady and the other young man?"

"I'm May Birch, but I'm only here as a spectator," May said with a smile.

"And my name is Brendan Maple. My Kirlia here is Gwen," Brendan said.

Wattson nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you, now, since Wally is my first challenger, would the rest of you please move to the grand stands? We don't want to have any accidents here."

"Alright, May, let's go into the middle row. Not too far from the action, but not too close either," Brendan said.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea," May said.

 _Just be sure you're watching the match, not May,_ Gwen teased.

"Hey, I can multitask," Brendan said.

They went into the stands, taking their seats just as the pylons began to spark to life, forming a fence of electricity around the field. Wattson gave a bellowing laugh. Then, the wall opposite the main stands opened to reveal a screen. "Well, I will be the first to choose a Pokémon, and my first pick is an electrifying one. Come on out Ed!" The Pokémon that came out looked like a Pokéball, except it had eyes, and it looked angry.

"So, a Voltorb. Then I choose Jet!" Wally called out, sending his Fletchinder onto the field. The screen then showed a picture of both Pokémon, each next to a green bar.

"Before you ask, that screen is a substitute for the referee. It tracks the stamina and health of your Pokémon with pinpoint accuracy. The bar will shrink as your Pokémon takes damage, and when the bar disappears, your Pokémon has fainted," Wattson said. "It's a new technology, but I've been steadily perfecting it with the help of the local Nurse Joy."

"Wow, that's an impressive piece of technology," Brendan noted. May nodded

"Well, you can have the first attack, Wally," Wattson said.

"Jet, use Flame Charge!" Wally called out. Jet became coated in flames as he flew at Ed, flying at high speed. His speed increased as he moved closer to the target.

"Spark!" Wattson said calmly, which seemed rather out of character for the jolly leader. Ed became coated in electricity and he began rolling at Jet. The two Pokémon collided and created a small explosion. Jet recoiled from the strike, but Ed just barely rolled away, relatively unharmed. On the screen, Jet's bar dropped to just above half, while Ed's bar only went down by a quarter.

Wally seemed to curse, he then refocused. "Jet, use Ember!" he called out. Jet spat a ball of flames at Ed. The orb of fire flew too fast for Ed to dodge in time, and he was hit head-on, this dropped Ed's health bar to below the halfway mark.

"Respond with Shock Wave!" Wattson said. Ed shook and leapt into the air, spinning on his x-axis as he discharged a constant stream of electricity. Jet had no physical way to dodge the incoming attack, and he was hit hard. Jet was thrown to the ground and stayed down as his bar was depleted. The screen gave a buzzing noise, indicating a loss for the round.

"Jet, return!" Wally said. "You fought well. Now take a good rest, I promise we will win this." He then pulled out Paul's Pokéball. "Come on out Paul!" He sent out the bipedal mud fish.

"A much more stable choice in an electric gym," Wattson said with a slight chuckle. Paul's picture appeared on the screen, and the match resumed. "Alright, use Sonic Boom!" Ed began to roll extremely fast as he approached Paul. Soon the airwaves around him formed a cone. A loud crack could be heard as Ed broke the sound barrier, and he slammed into Paul.

"Paul, use Mud Shot!" Wally called out. Just as Ed rolled away, Paul spat out a ball of mud at the Voltorb, and it was on a perfect trajectory to intercept its target, sending it flying and rolling back toward Wattson's feet. The screen buzzed as Voltorb's health bar hit zero.

"Alright, great job Paul. Keep it up!" Wally said.

"Time for my next Pokémon. Let's go Electra!" Wattson called out. This time, his Pokéball contained a floating metal eye with a screw on the top and a magnet on each side.

"So, a Magnemite," Brendan said. "Let's hope Wally can win this round as well."

"Paul, use Mud Shot!" Wally called. Wattson seemed to grimace at the sound of Wally's command.

"Electra, use Supersonic!" Wattson said. Electra made a piercing high-pitched sound, which disoriented Paul. Paul then began to fumble and stumble around the battlefield, tripping and hurting himself before he could launch the ball of mud as Wally ordered.

"Crap," Wally said under his breath. "Paul, use Mud Shot!" Wally said. Paul seemed to just barely hear his trainer, but that was enough for him to start to attempt an attack. This time, however, he managed to fire a ball of mud at Electra. The attack hit its mark and sent the magnet Pokémon spiraling through the air. The health bar on the screen went down rapidly, and was about to hit zero, only to stop abruptly at one point.

"And Sturdy comes through for us!" Wattson said. "Now, use Sonicboom!" This time, Electra began to spin in place. She picked up so much speed, that she broke the sound barrier, sending a wave of highly pressurized air at Paul. It moved too fast for Paul to dodge. The attack hit him head-on and sent him sliding across the ground. His health bar drop by a lot, but it wasn't enough for a knock out.

"Paul, once more, use Mud Shot!" Wally called out. Paul, now seeming to be back to his senses, fired his attack once more. This time, Electra's health bar hit zero and she fell to the ground, knocked out of the fight. Brendan gave a surprised smirk.

 _That was well done, but there's still one more in Wattson's arsenal_ , Gwen said.

"Yeah, we'll see how Wally does in this next round," Brendan agreed.

Wattson recalled Electra and pulled out his next Pokéball. "Go, Nikola!" The next Pokémon was a Magneton. It looked ready for battle.

"Alright, let's do this!" Wally said. "Paul, just keep spamming Mud Shot!" Paul fired two smaller balls of mud, rather than a single larger one.

"Nikola, use Protect, then Flash Cannon!" Wattson said. The Magneton became surrounded by a green sphere of energy, the two balls of mud hit it and slid to the floor. The force field fell, and a stream of silver light flew at Paul. Brendan looked at the screen and saw that Paul's health bar was already almost empty. If this attack landed, Brendan was certain it would end the round.

Wally noticed that too. "Paul, dodge it, then use Mud Slap!" Paul leapt to the side as the stream of metallic energy passed by, striking the ground and making a small crater. Paul, who was still slightly airborne, stuck his hand into the ground and scooped out a handful, hitting it with a small stream of water to make mud. He then threw it at Nikola. The mud hit its target easily, even if it didn't do as much damage as a Mud Shot.

"Finish this with Tri Attack!" Wattson called. From each of Magneton's segments came a triangle of energy, each one colored differently. The three flew out, weaving around each other before colliding with Paul. This attack sent him rolling as his health bar dropped to zero. Paul slid to a stop, but he wasn't about to get back up.

"Thanks Paul, please get a good rest," Wally said as he recalled the Pokémon. "Now, I need your help Sam!" He threw his last Pokéball, releasing his Gallade.

 _Hey, Sammy, DON'T SCREW THIS UP!_ Gwen said, earning a mild glare from Sam.

"Alright Sam, use Close Combat!" Wally called. Sam leapt at Magneton, punching and kicking rapidly, doing serious damage. The screen showed a significant drop in health for Nikola.

"Nikola, use Thunderbolt!" Wattson commanded. The Magneton's six magnets all began to arc electricity before it coalesced into a single point and flew at Sam. There was no time to dodge, and he was overcome by the electrical attack.

"Sam, Protect, then use Swords Dance!" Wally said. Sam was surrounded by a green sphere as he pushed the electricity back. Inside that sphere, blue swords materialized out of energy, circling the Pokémon and creating a red aura around him. "Now, use Close Combat once more!" Sam broke open the sphere of energy, jumping to the side to avoid the electricity before sprinting at Nikola.

"Nikola, use Tri Attack to stop that attack!" Wattson called. Sam arrived and began to hit the Magneton hard, but he wasn't in time to stop the incoming triangular energy beams. He was hit hard, but he manage to continue fighting. Brendan looked up and saw that both Sam's and Nikola's health bars were about to be depleted. Nikola's health just hit zero a split second faster. The magnet Pokémon collapsed, and the battle was over. Wattson sighed before recalling Nikola. "That was an excellent battle young man. Please, take both the Dynamo Badge and TM34." Wattson pulled a remote from his pocket and pushed a button, which caused a single stand with the badge and the TM disc to rise from the floor.

"Thank you Wattson, sir," Wally said. "Now, I guess Sam and I will get off the battlefield so Brendan can start his battle."

"Thank you young man, I will properly congratulate you once this next battle is over," Wattson said.

Brendan and Gwen both stood up, Brendan only stopping to give May a quick peck on the cheek for luck. He then made his way to the field, Gwen simply leaping onto his shoulder for the ride.

"So, Brendan, you definitely look like your father," Wattson said.

"You figured it out?" Brendan asked.

"Well, Maple isn't exactly a common last name, and when a gym leader from Johto who has that same last name and an eighteen year-old son is transferred to Hoenn, it does logically follow that you are Norman's son," Wattson said. "But you didn't come here to exchange pleasantries, so let us begin this match. First, though, I would like to know how many Pokémon you have with you."

"I have four currently," Brendan said. Wattson nodded.

"That works then. See, the team I just used against Wally will need rest time. So, I will be using my other team, which has four Pokémon on it. What do you say to a four-on-four match?"

Brendan looked at Gwen, who just nodded to him. "Sounds good to me," Brendan said to Wattson.

 _This will be a fun match, I can tell!_ Gwen said. Brendan didn't question how she knew that, he'd learned a while ago to stop questioning Gwen on this sort of thing.

"Alright, then I choose Art!" Wattson called as he sent out his first Pokémon. This one was also a Voltorb.

"Alright, I know I just caught you, but let's give it a try. Let's go Turk!" Brendan called as he sent out the ruffian Pokémon. Turk showed up with a confident look in his eye that screamed 'Come at me!'

"You and Wally both have made strange choices in first Pokémon in an electric gym. Oh well, let's see how this goes. You have the first move young man," Wattson said.

"Turk, start with Bubblebeam!" Brendan said. Turk fired multiple bubbles from his claws which flew toward Art.

"Art, dodge and use Screech!" Wattson said, seeming to have become much more focused. Art rolled to the side just as the bubbles were about to hit. It then gave a very piercing screech, sending a sonic wave at Turk, severely lowering his defenses.

"Turk, get in close and use Vicegrip!" Brendan called. Turk started to sprint at Art, his left claw extended forward for the attack. Wattson, however, didn't give any command to dodge. That was when Brendan realized that he'd taken the bait.

"Use Spark!" Wattson called. The Voltorb began to emit electricity rapidly, sending it through Turk's body.

"Damn, Turk, throw Art into the air and use Bubblebeam!" Brendan said. Turk didn't need to be told twice. He lobbed Art into the air and fired a stream of bubbles with his right claw simultaneously. The sentient Pokéball was hit perfectly with the attack. Brendan stole a quick glance at the screen and watched as Art's health dropped faster than it should have from that attack. In fact, it did enough damage to drop its health to zero.

"Ah, I hate critical hits!" Wattson said as he recalled Art. "But you dealt with that bad situation well, even if you did take my bait. Now, how will you deal with Jackson?" He threw out his next Pokéball. It released a green and yellow dog-like Pokémon.

"Huh, that's a new one for me," Brendan said.

"Oh, right, a Johto native has never seen an Electrike," Wattson said. "Well, this is an even greater test of your skill. Now you must adapt to an unfamiliar opponent."

"I guess you're right," Brendan said. "Well, there's no use standing here, Turk, use Bubblebeam!" Turk fired off a stream of bubbles at the Electrike.

"Don't try to be sly, Jackson, dodge that!" Wattson said. The electric dog moved blindingly fast, too fast for Brendan to follow it. "Now, Thunder Fang!" Jackson's teeth began to spark with electricity as he ran at Turk, biting the crawfish with all his strength. That was enough to drop Turk's health bar to zero, as he collapsed to the ground. Jackson simply let go and slid back to where he began.

"Turk, thank you for battling so hard. Now, return and rest up!" Brendan said as he recalled the Pokémon. "Now, let's step things up, go Clint!" He threw his next Pokéball, letting out the wood gecko.

"Alright then. Jackson, use Howl!" Wattson called out. The little Pokémon gave a loud howl, as a red aura surrounded him, showing that his attacking strength had risen.

"Clint, use Agility, then Mega Drain!" Brendan called. Clint began to sprint around the battlefield, his speed gradually increasing. Then three tendrils of green energy extended from Clint, latching on to Jackson. Once they had attached, they began to sap him of his energy.

"Jackson, use Thundershock, send it through those tendrils!" Wattson called.

"Let go and then use Fury Cutter!" Brendan called. Clint reacted just in time as the electricity had just begun to hit him, dropping his health bar slightly. That was when Clint began to show his true speed, sprinting across the floor, his arm leaves glowing with a yellow-green energy. He closed the gap between himself and Jackson as he began to rapidly and relentlessly slash the Pokémon. Brendan glanced up at the screen, only to see that Jackson's health bar was getting low, but Clint's bar was now outlined yellow. Just as the fifth attack was about to hit, Clint froze and a lot of electricity could be seen coursing through his body.

"Damn, that thing must have the Static ability," Brendan muttered to himself. "Alright, I can still win with this hand." He took a calming breath. He needed only one more solid hit, but with Clint paralyzed, that would be difficult. There was only one option open to get a quick hit in. "Clint, use Quick Attack!"

Clint gave Brendan a confident smirk as he leapt back from Jackson to gain distance. He then began to sprint across the battlefield, a streak of white light extending from his back. Jackson didn't have any time to react, even though Clint was paralyzed. The impact sent Jackson flying across the battlefield, but Clint was forced to stop as electricity once again coursed through his body. The screen gave a buzz, indicating a knock out. Wattson recalled Jackson and simply sent out his next Pokémon.

"Go, Tesla!" he called. The Pokémon was another Magneton, but just by looking at it, Brendan could tell that it wasn't quite as strong as the one Wally had just faced.

"Clint, use Mega Drain, get some health back!" Brendan said. Grovyle complied, sending more tendrils that latched onto Tesla's body, glowing brightly momentarily. This just made Brendan uneasy. Wattson hadn't even bothered to call for a dodge. That meant he was planning something.

"Tesla, use Hidden Power!" Wattson said. A ring of little icy blue balls of energy formed around the Magneton, circling quickly before coalescing into a single sphere. That sphere then flew at Clint with almost pinpoint accuracy.

"Clint, dodge that!" Brendan called. That was when the paralysis picked the worst time to act up. Clint stopped moving as more electricity ran through his body, making him take the full force of the hidden power attack. Brendan looked up at the screen and watched as Clint's health bar dropped to zero within a few seconds. "What?!"

"You're confused, right?" Wattson said. "Well, I taught this particular Magneton Hidden Power to counter ground types. It just so happens that his hidden power is ice-type, so it works pretty well on grass types too."

Brendan recalled Clint, and took another steadying breath. _Hey, you can still do this. You still have Nikki and me._

Brendan smiled at Gwen. "Yeah, you're right, there's no reason to be worried," he said as he pulled Nikki's Pokéball off his belt. "Let's go Nikki!" The Vigoroth came out of her Pokéball, raring for a fight.

"Good, I should've expected a normal type from the son of Norman," Wattson said.

"Well, let me show you something you won't be expecting," Brendan said. "Nikki, start with Bulk Up, then use Rock Tomb!" Brendan said. Nikki took a deep breath, getting stronger offensively and defensively. She then stomped on the ground, causing four rocks to erupt from the ground around Tesla. Tesla's health bar dropped significantly, but it wasn't nearly what Brendan expected.

"Tesla, break out of there with Thunderbolt, then aim it at Nikki!" Wattson said. That was when lightning began to arc through the battlefield, centering on the rocks around the steel type.

"Nikki, it's time for that strategy we've been practicing, use Endure!" Brendan said. Nikki crossed her arms in front of her body as Tesla's attack began to form a single stream of electricity. The Thunderbolt hit her arms as she braced herself against the attack. Brendan watched as Nikki's health bar dropped until it remained at one point. "Great, now use Reversal!" Nikki leapt at Tesla with her claws raised high. She grabbed hold of the Pokémon, did a sideways barrel roll, and threw it into the ground hard. There came a buzzing from the screen, indicating another knock out, and Magneton was clearly out of the fight.

"Return Tesla," Wattson said as he recalled his Pokémon. "Well Brendan, you certainly have a very strategic mind. There is, however, one flaw with the strategy you just employed. You used it when there was another Pokémon coming out. And since you weren't familiar with Jackson, I am certain you don't know this Pokémon either. Go, Voltaire!" The Pokémon that came out of the Pokéball looked similar to the Electrike from earlier, but it was taller, with blue and tan fur.

"Damn, he's right," Brendan muttered. "I have never seen that one before, but I'm guessing it evolved from an Electrike."

 _Yeah, that's a Manectric, they're blindingly fast and they have strong electric attacks_ , Gwen said.

"Well, this should be an interesting match in that case," Brendan said, a bead of sweat forming on the side of his head. He then spoke up, ready to continue the match. "Nikki, use Reversal again!" Nikki ran at Voltaire, ready to give her the same treatment she had given Tesla.

"Thunder Wave," Wattson said calmly. Voltaire formed a ball of purple lighting in front of her before firing it directly into Nikki's chest. The attack caused Nikki to stop in her tracks, electricity coursing through her like it had done to Clint. "Now, Ice Fang!" Voltaire's teeth began to glow lightly as her breath came out in a cold, frosty cloud of steam. She lunged forward, closing the small gap between herself and Nikki in a second, biting the sloth on the shoulder, causing ice to form on Nikki's fur. The screen buzzed once more, indicating that Nikki had been knocked out. And Brendan couldn't agree more. Nikki was in no condition to continue.

"Nikki, that was a great battle, now rest up. I promise we will win this battle," Brendan said. He then looked to Gwen. "Ready?"

 _Of course,_ Gwen said.

"Good, because it's your turn," Brendan said. Gwen shot a quick glare into the stands, directly at Sam, so Brendan assumed that he had just given Gwen some slightly sarcastic encouragement like she had done to him. She quickly refocused as she leapt to the center of the battlefield.

 _Alright, time to earn badge number three,_ Gwen said.

"No hesitation, Gwen, start with multiple Double Teams!" Brendan said.

 _Kage bushin no jutsu!_ Gwen shouted as she made multiple illusory copies of herself.

Brendan just shook his head at the bad joke. _This is what I get for letting her watch that show a few nights ago_ , he thought. "Now use Calm Mind!" A green aura surrounded all of Gwen's clones as she powered up her special skills.

"Voltaire, use Odor Sleuth, then use Thunder Wave," Wattson called. Voltaire closed her eyes and seemed to be focusing on a scent in the air. That tipped Brendan off.

"Gwen, use Psychic, now!" Brendan said. Gwen's eyes lit up with psychic aura as she gripped her opponent, lifting her into the air. "Now drop her!" At the same moment Gwen began to send Voltaire plummeting, the electric wolf fired another ball of electricity, and Gwen could tell it was heading straight for her. "Dodge it with another Double Team!" This time, Gwen acted without making a joke. More copies of her filled the battle field, but that didn't change anything. Odor Sleuth ensured that the next attack would hit. Gwen couldn't do anything about it. She took the hit and could feel her body go almost numb from the electricity.

"Now, use Shock Wave!" Wattson called. Voltaire fired off a single ring of electricity, it passed through all the clones before it struck the real Gwen hard.

 _Damn, that hurt!_ Gwen said. Brendan took a look at the screen. Both Gwen and Voltaire were just below half of their health.

"Gwen, you can do this. I think one or two more attacks should do it. So, use Disarming Voice!" Brendan commanded. Gwen gave a piercing cry, sending a sound wave at Voltaire. The attack landed, dropping the Manectric's health to the one quarter mark.

"Voltaire, Thunderbolt!" Wattson called.

"Gwen, Psychic!" Brendan called simultaneously. Voltaire, however, was faster, firing off her electric attack just before Gwen grabbed and threw her across the battlefield. Voltaire hit the ground hard, just as the Thunderbolt hit Gwen.

Brendan watched as both health bars ran down rapidly, only for Gwen's to stop at the one-point mark. _No, I will not lose. I can't let Brendan down!_ Gwen said for all to hear. Wattson raised his eyebrows in surprise at Gwen's determination and strength of will. That was when the buzzer sounded. Voltaire, and thus Wattson, had lost the battle. Wattson sighed.

"Well, I guess your power is beyond the norm an' I should've seen that coming," Wattson said, earning a groan from Brendan at the bad pun. "Sorry, well, you've earned the Dynamo Badge and TM34." As he said that, the same stand from before to rise from the ground, a new badge and TM ready for him. Gwen slowly started to make her way over to Brendan, who ran up and grabbed her before she could go any further.

"You were great today Gwen, but just relax and rest now," Brendan said as he carried her almost bridal style.

 _Thanks Goldenrod, I could use some time off my feet,_ Gwen said. Just as Gwen said that, May, Wally, and Sam came up behind Brendan; Wally patted him on the back.

"Man that was an amazing battle. I've never seen a Pokémon without Sturdy, a held item, or a defensive move manage to hold on like that," Wally said.

 _It was nothing, I just couldn't bear the thought of losing the battle,_ Gwen said.

"Well, I'm tired from watching those battles," May said. "I can only imagine how you two feel. Why don't we go relax at the Pokémon Center and call it a day?"

 _I'm game!_ Gwen said, exhaustedly, earning a chuckle from Brendan, who was already leading the way out of the Gym.

Wattson just stood in his gym, shaking his head. "Even at such an early stage in his journey, and that boy has a bond with his Pokémon strong enough that she stayed conscious just for him," he muttered to himself. "I guess I've seen it all now, haven't I?"

 **Hey everybody, sorry it took so long to update, but with classes starting up again, and with family-related matters to attend to, I've been busy as hell. On top of that, I decided to write one of the longest chapters in this story.**

 **Anyway, as always thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the story, or if you saw something that you think I can improve on, please review. I'm open to critiques, just don't be a dick about it. Also, I know the title pun was really bad for this chapter. It was the best I could come up with for what happens in the chapter.**

 **Until next time!**


	22. Racing to New Heights

_Racing to New Heights_

The next morning, May was on the phone with Lisia, and they were talking about her next strategy for the contest's appeals round. "You know, I'm actually impressed by your strategic mind for contests," Lisia said. "You're even better than I was when I first started."

"Thanks, I just hope that I can win the Verdanturf Contest," May said.

"Oh, didn't you hear, the Verdanturf Contest and the Fallarbor Contest were switched on the schedule. The Fallarbor Contest is in half a week, so that should give you enough time to get there," Lisia said.

"Oh, when and why did that happen?" May asked, surprised at the shift of schedule.

"Well, apparently the Verdanturf contest hall is being renovated, but they were set back due to some mistakes made by the construction crew," Lisia said. "Why they decided to make renovations, I'll never know."

May laughed a little. "Thanks for the heads up Lis; I guess Brendan and I will be heading to Fallarbor. See you there!"

"Ciao!" Lisia said as she hung up. May put away her phone and went to join Brendan, Gwen, and all the other Pokémon for breakfast. Wally had decided to go home and show his aunt and uncle his badge, hopefully convincing them that he was able to be a good trainer.

"So, what did Lisia have to say?" Brendan asked as he finished a bite of his zesty breakfast burrito.

"Well, turns out the Fallarbor Contest has been switched with the Verdanturf Contest due to renovations in Verdanturf's contest hall. So, it seems we're on our way to Fallarbor Town now," May said.

 _That shouldn't be a problem. Besides, we were going to go through Verdanturf after we beat the Lavaridge Gym so we could get to Petalburg, right Brendan?_ Gwen said.

"Actually, yes, that was pretty much the plan, but taking a break in Verdanturf for a contest sounds great to me," Brendan said with a grin.

May smiled. "Thanks for being okay with this," she said.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Brendan said, taking a sip of coffee. "Besides, that just means that we get to explore more of Hoenn sooner." May hugged Brendan, almost making him spill. "Ok, you're welcome, but be careful, I don't want hot coffee on my crotch!" May laughed as she let go and sat next to Brendan. She had finished her breakfast before talking to Lisia, but she wasn't above stealing a bite of Brendan's burrito. Brendan just laughed slightly. "You just love to push my buttons, don't you?"

"If I didn't do that, you'd think something was wrong," May said after she cleared out her mouth. Brendan just kissed her on the top of her head.

"I guess I can't stay mad at you," Brendan said as he hugged her closer. He finished his breakfast burrito and coffee, making sure the Pokémon had all finished their food before getting up. "Well, we'd better get going!" He recalled his Pokémon while May did the same with hers.

"Alright, let's head north," May said. Brendan followed her out of the Pokémon Center, Gwen right behind them.

"By the way, how are you feeling after yesterday, Gwen?" Brendan asked.

 _I'm great, just a little sore,_ she said rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, that'll fade with light training and a nice rest from intense battles," Brendan said.

 _Let's just hope that's the case,_ Gwen said. With that, they the Pokémon Center, and were about to make their way to the route 111 gate when May stopped.

"Damn, we almost forgot to get bikes!" May said.

"Wow, good job remembering that, let's go get bikes," Brendan said. He glanced at a nearby map and saw that the bike shop was only a five minute walk away from where they were. They walked to the east, and soon saw the sign for the shop. It was really hard to miss due to it being a gigantic bicycle with the word "Rydel" on both sides.

They entered only to see a man in a business suit by a bike display rack. "Well hello there," he said. I am Rydel, the owner of this bike shop. How can I be of service to you?"

"We'd like to buy a couple bikes," Brendan said.

Rydel scanned over them with a look briefly. "I see, well, there's one issue with your request. That is your use of the word buy."

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"Well, you see, I've been hurting for business recently because nearly everybody in Mauville has one of my bikes already. However, I think we can get a mutually beneficial arrangement here. I will give you one of my bikes and then you ride it around, and advertise for me," Rydel said.

Brendan looked at May, and shrugged. "Well, so long as there's no catch, I can't see any problem with that," Brendan said.

"Well, I'm not sure you can really call this a catch, but I have two different types of bikes available. You just need to pick your preference," Rydel said. "The first bike is the Mach Bike, it's made for speed and racing. The other is the Acro Bike, which is more of a trick bike."

"I'll take the Acro Bike," Brendan said.

"And I will take the Mach Bike," May said.

"Alright," Rydel said. He walked over to a screen, pushed a few buttons, and two square remotes with a single button on them. "These are the bikes, they're collapsible, just hit the button and it expand into a bike. It won't open indoors, however.

"Alright, then let's go outside and check them out!" May said. Brendan followed her out the door, Gwen deciding to sit on Brendan's shoulders.

"Alright, I'll open mine first," Brendan said as he put the bike on the ground and hit the button. In an instant the bike had unfolded transformers style and was standing beautifully. It was orange with short handlebars. "Looks really nice, but is there anything with a seat for Gwen here?" he said.

"Actually, I do have a small Pokémon seat here," Rydel said. "But are you sure you want that, because once she evolves she'll be tall enough to ride a bike of her own."

 _Actually, Brendan, I think I can just stay on your shoulders. I can hold on pretty well,_ Gwen said.

"Okay, good point, both of you," Brendan said. "But Gwen, if you start to fall off, I will have to put you in your Pokéball."

Gwen gasped and covered her mouth. _You wouldn't,_ she said in mock fear.

"Anyway, my turn!" May said as she put her bike on the ground and hit the button. It opened up just like Brendan's did, only her bike was blue with lower, racing handlebars. "Wow that looks awesome. And the frame is so light."

"Well, it has to be to go faster," Rydel said. May got on her bike, while Brendan got on his, Gwen sitting on his shoulders. "By the way, if either of you two want to switch bikes, just stop by and I'll make the switch in no time at all."

"Thanks Rydel," Brendan said before turning to May. "I'll race you to Route 112!"

"Oh you're on!" May said, a competitive gleam in her eye. Brendan began to pedal hard, making some distance between himself and May. That was until May started pedaling. Her Mach Bike shot forward much faster than Brendan's Acro Bike could've. She caught up with no trouble at all, and was soon passing Brendan.

"Wow, I should've picked the Mach Bike!" Brendan said.

 _Too late for that now, just catch up to her!_ Gwen said.

"Alright, hold on tight," Brendan said as he watched May pass through the gate to Route 111. He started to pedal harder, shifting to a lower gear as he did. He quickly caught up to May, but she simply shot him a taunting glance as she shifted into a higher gear, and while she temporarily slowed down, she quickly increased her speed.

"You've gotta do better than that!" May called back.

Brendan smiled as he followed her example, switching to a higher gear. He pushed harder and soon caught up, sticking close behind May. Brendan glanced over his girlfriend, realizing just how much fun he was having with her. He felt like he wanted to do things like this with her for a long time to come. "Man, I am so glad I moved to Hoenn!" he shouted. Both trainers could now see the sign for Route 112, and they knew that the race was almost done. Brendan got a confident look on his face as he began to pedal even harder than before.

 _Damn it, Brendan, I'm sitting in your backpack next time you choose to ride a bike!_ Gwen shouted. Brendan just laughed, but soon realized that May was right next to him. She wasn't about to let him win.

Brendan smiled. A little more speed was okay with him. The sign was within a few feet, all they had to do was cross the "finish line." Just when Brendan thought the victory was his, May shot forward, winning by mere feet.

"WOOOOOHOOOO!" May said. "How'd my dust taste?"

"Yeah, you won. Nice race. I guess I should've picked the Mach Bike," Brendan said with a slight chuckle.

"EXCUSE ME!" said a vaguely familiar voice. Brendan just couldn't remember where he knew the voice from. He turned around and saw a woman in a fashionable blue sleeveless shirt and a microphone in her hand. She was followed closely by a man in jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a red hat. The man also carried a news camera.

"Oh, hello," May said. "Aren't you Gabby from PokeVision News?"

"I am, my cameraman, Ty, and I couldn't help but notice you two racing earlier, but I have to wonder if you two are as good with Pokémon training as you are with cycling," Gabby said.

"And I'm just doing what the lady tells me," Ty said.

"So, what do you say to a quick double battle?" Gabby said. "If it's intense, then we might air it on PokeVision's new series _In Search of Trainers_."

"Wow, so if we battle you, then we could get on PokeVision?" Brendan asked. "Man, first free bikes to help advertise, now a chance to gain some fame. Today just keeps getting better, doesn't it?"

"Well, I'm okay with it if you are!" May said.

"Alright, let's put our best feet forward," Brendan said as he dismounted his bike, pushing a button to make it fold up again. May did the same, and they both pocketed their bikes once that was done.

"So Miranda and Gwen?" May asked.

"You know it," Brendan said as Gwen leapt off his shoulders. May took out Miranda's Pokéball. Brendan then turned to address Gabby and Ty. "We're ready whenever you are!"

"Ty, are we rolling?" Gabby asked as she pulled out her Pokéball.

Ty did the same. "Yep, the camera is rolling. Let's get started," he said.

"Perfect, let's begin. Let's go Phoebe!" Gabby said as she threw out her Pokéball, which released a purple Pokémon with yellow ears, small eyes and it looked a little timid.

"A Whismur, huh?" May said quietly. "This should be interesting."

Ty threw his Pokéball. "Let's go Vinny!" he called, his Pokéball unleashing a Magnemite.

Brendan just shook his head. "This will be easier than I expected," he said. "Now, let's show them what we're made of. Gwen, you're up!" Gwen skipped onto the battlefield, ready to battle.

"Miranda, you're up!" May said, just opening her Pokéball, not bothering to throw it. The Combusken came out of her Pokéball, ready to go.

"Alright, I'll start us off," Gabby said. "Phoebe, use Uproar!"

"And Vinny, use Metal Sound!" Ty called out. Phoebe took a breath before shouting extremely loudly, and Vinny began to produce what sounded like metal nails on a chalkboard.

"Alright, Gwen, use Psychic on Phoebe!" Brendan said while covering his ears slightly. Gwen's eyes glowed briefly as she grabbed and threw Phoebe back, into a nearby tree.

"Miranda, use Double Kick on Vinny!" May said, her ears starting to hurt too. Miranda leapt at the Magnemite. As she got in close, she lashed out with a vicious roundhouse kick, doing serious damage before she fired an axe kick, sending Vinny crashing into the ground. Both Phoebe and Magnemite were out of the fight now.

"…W-was that all?" Brendan said, not trying to be rude. "That seemed way too easy."

Gabby just sighed. "We usually hold our own for a few minutes. You two are the first to beat us with just one hit to each Pokémon. That's really extraordinary strength. If you two don't mind, could we get an interview?"

May and Brendan exchanged looks, Gwen leaping back onto Brendan's shoulder. "Sure, I'm okay with it," Brendan said. "What about you May?"

"Definitely," May said.

"Alright, so first question for both of you is you name and where you're from," Gabby said.

"I'm May Birch, from Littleroot Town," she said.

"And I'm Brendan Maple. I'm originally from Goldenrod City, but I just moved to Littleroot Town about a month ago," he said.

 _And I'm Gwen! I'm from a hidden village on Route 102!_ Gwen said enthusiastically, earning a look of surprise from both Gabby and Ty.

"Yes, she can speak telepathically, we get that response a lot," Brendan said.

"I see," Gabby said with a slight laugh. "Well, tell us, where did you learn to battle so well?"

May started. "Actually, I'm a coordinator. Most people who follow the contest tour may know me. Anyway, my father is Professor Birch, and he made sure I stayed in school and learned as much as I could from books and classes about Pokémon," she said.

"Wow, so you've been around Pokémon your whole life," Gabby said. "And what about you, Brendan?"

"Well, I'm a trainer aiming to win the Hoenn League title, and eventually become the Champion," Brendan said. "I was also in school for a while because my dad wanted the same thing that May's dad wanted for her."

"And you said your last name is Maple, is that right? Why does that sound so familiar to me?" Gabby said.

"That's because my dad is the new gym leader in Petalburg," Brendan said.

"Oh, of course, I should've remembered that!" Gabby said, slightly disappointed with herself. "I mean I interviewed him only shortly after he arrived. I should've remembered that."

"It's okay. My family is still pretty new to the region," Brendan said.

"Well, where are you two planning to go from here?" Gabby asked.

"We're on our way to Fallarbor Town for the contest there," May said.

"Well, since we will be there to cover that contest, I guess we will see you there," Gabby said with a slight smile. "Thank you so much for your time. I'm sure this will make it onto PokeVision."

"You're welcome, hope to see you there!" May said. The news crew duo left, heading for Mauville City. May then turned back to Brendan. "So, do you want to walk or ride from here?"

"Well, we will be going through a mountain, so I think going on foot would be better," Brendan said.

"Yeah, good point. Besides, we can't go through the desert since there's a massive sandstorm there almost constantly," May said.

"Oh, really? That sounds like a place where I can find some really strong Pokémon," Brendan thought out loud.

"You need some special goggles to even go on that part of route 111," May said.

"I see, well, as much sense as that doesn't make, I won't question it," Brendan said as they went toward what the PokeNav map marked as Mt. Chimney. Up the stairs was the mouth of a cave, and a building that housed a cable car to get up the mountain. Gwen, however, was the first to point out an oddity.

 _Hey, why are there two men standing in front of the cable car entrance?_ She said.

Brendan looked over where Gwen was indicating and saw two men wearing strange, identical outfits. They were red with black "M"s on the front that were in the shape of a mountain, and they wore red hoods.

"Oh no, please tell me that's not the Team Magma that Team Aqua has been going on about," Brendan said.

"Let's steer clear of them for now. Something tells me that we don't want to even bother with them right now," May said as she led the way to the mouth of the cave. "Anyway, this is Fiery Path, it should lead us to the other side of the route so we can get to Fallarbor Town," May said.

"Perfect, let's get through here, because those Magma guys are giving me evil eyes," Brendan said. May laughed slightly as she followed Brendan into the cave.

It was three hours later when the two trainers finally got out of the cave, and both were sweating like crazy, and Gwen was dragging her feet.

"Oh Arceus, that was one hot tunnel!" May said.

"Uh-huh," Brendan said, not even trying to form a coherent sentence.

 _Well, it was either that, or get pelted with sand the entire time,_ Gwen said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that," Brendan said. "Still, there were so many Slugma and Koffing. It was good battle experience for Turk and the others, but still, I could barely breath in there after the second hour. "Let me know when you guys are ready to get moving again," Brendan said.

May sat up and looked at Brendan. "Well, if nothing else, we now know to avoid Fiery Path at all costs, since it is literally under an active volcano," she said.

"Duly noted," Brendan said.

Gwen just sat for a moment before levitating herself to her feet. _I think we need to get moving soon,_ she said. _Something just tells me that we want to get moving as soon as possible._

"A-alright," May said as she and Brendan stood up. "Let's get going!"

They quickly left the exit of the cave and made their way to the northern part of Route 111. There they saw a line of trees that slightly obscured a house in the distance. Closer to them was a man wearing an outfit that was a mixture between a hipster and a cowboy. He was simply staring the tree in front of him, like he was pondering something.

"Excuse me, sir, what are you doing?" Brendan asked. The man jumped slightly and turned around.

"Oh, geez, this must look weird to see somebody staring intently at a tree. Well, I'm actually considering making a secret base here. See, there are some low hanging vines, so with the use of the move Secret Power, you can make a living space in trees like this one," he said.

"Wow, so it's like a secret tree house?" May asked.

"Yes, but you can also use a cave, or even a large pile of grass," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a TM disc. "Here, take this. It's TM43, it teaches Secret Power. Use this to make your own secret base." With that, he departed.

"Wait, didn't you say you were going to make a Secret Base here?" May called.

"Wouldn't be much of a secret if I made it now that you know about the location, now would it?" the guy called back. "See you both later!"

"Well, that was awfully nice of him," May said as she put the disc into her bag. "But I don't think I want a secret base in a tree. Maybe we should make ours somewhere else."

 _Wow, making a Secret Base together, almost like buying a house,_ Gwen said in a teasing tone.

"Oh, you can just shut up!" May said in a teasing tone as well.

Brendan laughed a little as they began to move north again. "This must be how May sees my interactions with Gwen," he muttered to himself. Gwen then teleported onto Brendan's shoulders, ready to relax for a while.

They all walked for almost an hour before they got to Route 113. This route, however, was really odd in Brendan's opinion. "Is it snowing on this route?" he asked, a bit bewildered.

"No, not at all," May said, giving him a weird look. "Hoenn is in the tropics, and the only mountain is a volcano. Why would there be snow?"

"I don't know, I was just wondering since it looks like there is snow falling on that route," Brendan said.

 _Actually that's volcanic ash,_ Gwen said. _It's coming from Mt. Chimney, but it only falls lightly so people aren't in any danger when they're on that route._

"O-okay, but it is getting late, we may have to rest in the middle of the route," Brendan said.

"Well we did just get the TM that pretty much gives us automatic shelter, so that shouldn't be a problem at all," May said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Brendan said. "Well then, let's go, with any luck we will get to Fallarbor before night falls, so we can sleep in a Pokémon Center." The two trainers then continued on toward Fallarbor.

Not far away from Brendan and May, in the depths of Mt. Chimney's Jagged Pass, was a tall man with copper-colored hair, a red lab coat and glasses with a multicolored stone on one side of the frames. He was sitting at a desk, writing and signing off on orders. There came a knock at his door.

"Enter!" the man said. The door opened to reveal a woman with darker strawberry blonde hair, almost looking pink, in high heeled boots, and an outfit similar to the grunts, except it was more elegant, and it had yellow horns on the hood. "What is it Courtney?"

"Commander Maxie, you asked to be informed about that boy that Team Aqua has had trouble with recently, correct?" Courtney said.

Maxie looked up, putting his pen down. "Proceed."

Courtney pulled an SD card from her pocket, and handed it to Maxie. "This video just aired on PokeVision's new show, _In Search of Trainers_. There are two trainers in this film, and they both fit the descriptions that Archie has been telling his underlings."

Maxie inserted the SD card into his computer, quickly opening the video and watching it closely. "I see. And the boy does indeed have a Kirlia that prefers to stay outside her Pokéball, and can project her thoughts with telepathy. If we were Team Rocket we'd definitely be after that Pokémon," Maxie mused.

"Sir, what do you want to do about this kid?" Courtney asked.

"While they haven't interfered with our plans, and they obviously don't support Team Aqua, I doubt they'll be joining our cause. Just by their short battle, I can tell that's not their personality," Maxie said before pausing to think. "We have a team that's heading to Fallarbor to convince that Dr. Cozmo to get us a meteorite, correct?"

"Yes sir, we do," Courtney said.

"Good; send them these pictures of both Brendan and May, along with the following orders: they are only to observe those two unless they interfere with any of our plans. If these children get in our way, bring me one of them so I can give the other a message."

"Yes sir," Courtney said.

"And Courtney," Maxie said, earning his lieutenant's attention. "Very good work finding this file." Courtney smiled at the praise once she had turned to leave the room. When she did Maxie spoke to himself. "Brendan Maple, you'd better play your cards right, or you will feel the wrath of Team Magma in full force."

 **Hey everybody, so I had a lot of free time today, so I decided "hey, I'll crank out another chapter." Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave a review about what you liked and where I can improve. Please be honest, but don't be mean.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	23. A Date With Disaster

_A Date With Disaster_

"Oh wow, Fallarbor Town is so pretty!" May said as she crested the hill leading to the town. Brendan, on the other hand, was not too thrilled, as he was once again shaking off the volcanic ash which had, almost miraculously, not even touched May. Brendan had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who was behind it, but he wasn't about to start anything. Besides, the night spent inside May's Secret Base was really comfortable to say the least. They had played Monopoly, although Brendan had no idea how May got the game into her bag, and Gwen completely dominated the board, getting hotels on all of her property and owning most of the higher-end locations, including Boardwalk and Park Place.

"Well, it is kind of a quiet town, but the stadium for the contest is pretty big," Brendan said. "It should be interesting to see how this one goes." He then led the way to the Pokémon Center which was very clearly visible with its red roof.

 _So, how long is it until the contest?_ Gwen asked.

May pulled out her schedule, and glanced over it. "It's actually tomorrow, so we have some time to relax, practice, and enjoy ourselves," she said with a grin.

 _Well, I can't wait to see your finished product in the contest!_ Gwen said as they arrived at the Pokémon Center. They entered and got a room in no time at all. They had only had short battles with random trainers on route 113, and they hadn't taken much damage, if any. So, the two trainers simply went back outside to the training fields, only to see a very familiar group.

"Well, you made it in time after all," Grace said to May.

"Great to see you too Grace," May said with a smile. "And Lisia, thanks for letting me know that the contest was moved."

Lisia, who was standing behind Grace, nodded. "Of course, I couldn't let my little protégé miss an important contest," she said.

"OH REALLY!?" came a new voice. Lisia just rolled her eyes before turning to face the speaker.

"What do you want Chaz?" she said, almost angrily to the young man with blonde hair, accompanied by a Machoke.

"I want you to stop leading this girl on. It's almost like you actually think she's got promise," the guy said, catching Brendan's attention in a very bad way. "You should stop wasting your time with her, and start working with me and Macherie. You know that we're better than her."

"Well, Chaz, I don't know about that," Lisia said. "After all, she's won the only two contests she's been in, and she only started training Pokémon about two months ago. You, on the other hand, have been training for a few years now, and you have yet to compete in a single grand festival."

Chaz went a bit red. "Yeah, well, Macherie and I are still the best out here. This bitch can't even compare," he said.

"Hey, troll doll!" Brendan said. "Will you stop bad mouthing my girlfriend? You literally haven't even spoken to her and you're already being a dick!"

Chaz went even more red than usual. "F-fine, I'll leave, but don't think you'll be winning this contest little girl," he said.

"Chaz, you're fifteen. She's eighteen," Lisia said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Chaz just scoffed and then ran away. Lisia turned to the Machoke, who was still standing there. "Macherie, I am so sorry you were captured by that jerk." Macherie just waved it off before following her trainer.

"Okay…what the hell was that just now?" May asked.

"That was Chaz, the obligatory douchebag on the contest circuit," Lisia said. "He's really not that good, but he thinks he's a genius. He's been annoying me about being my student for a while, but he's always been so rude. And I'm pretty sure he's a perv."

"Wow, he's gone the whole nine-yards in terms of being an asshole," Brendan said.

"You said it," Lisia said with a short laugh. "Anyway, let's get off that topic and keep practicing."

Grace nodded. "Delilah!" she called, and the Pokémon that responded was certainly unexpected for the Hoenn region.

"Woah, Grace, you have a Persian?" Brendan said in genuine shock.

Grace smiled. "Yep, I caught her while I was in Goldenrod City, of all places, during a contest there ten years ago. She was just a Meowth back then, but we won the contest together."

Brendan's eyes widened. "Wait, I went to that contest with my mother! I remember seeing a coordinator with a Meowth win it!" he said.

"You were there?" Grace said. "Wow, small world."

"Well, anyway, I'm going to start practicing with Graham," May said. Brendan nodded.

"Hey, Gwen, I've got something I need to do before tomorrow, but I need you to stay here since you've got a good eye for contests," he said.

Gwen just read his mind briefly, seeing what he was up to. _Okay, I'll stay and help May. Good luck with whatever it is you're doing._ Brendan smiled as he left.

"Well, that was…odd," Lisia said. "Does Brendan usually go off on his own like that?"

"No," May said. "This is the first time he's ever gone anywhere without me or Gwen since I've met him." Lisia and Grace gave each other knowing looks, having already figured out what Brendan was up to.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Lisia said. "We will figure it out soon enough."

Once Brendan was out of sight of the girls, he pulled out his PokeNav and opened the map of Fallarbor Town. He had heard about a really nice jewelry store in town while traversing Route 113, so he had decided to pre-emptively get May a gift for the contest. He even had a date night planned tomorrow to Meteor Falls.

He wasn't searching long before he found the shop. The jeweler looked up and smiled. "Hello young man, how may I be of service today?"

"Hi, I'm looking for something I can give to my girlfriend as a gift, but I've got very limited knowledge with jewelry," Brendan said.

"Not a problem. I've had a lot of customers like that. Anyway, I am Jared, before we go any further," he said extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you Jared, I'm Brendan," he said.

Jared put a hand on his chin as he seemed to examine Brendan before he got a look of surprise. "You were just on _In Search of Trainers!_ " he said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, that was my girlfriend and me," Brendan said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, where is Gwen?" Jared said.

"She's helping May practice for the Pokémon contest tomorrow," Brendan said.

"I see, well, onto business," Jared said. "What would you say May would like for her jewelry?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure. But if I had to guess, I'd say she prefers simple styles," Brendan said.

Jared nodded. "I agree, I hate flashy types of jewelry. Jewelry is an accentuation of the natural beauty already there, and it should draw the attention to the wearer, not to the jewelry itself," he said. "Now, you're a bit young to be getting rings, so I think I know what items would best suit May. How does a necklace or earrings sound?"

"That sounds good, let's see what you've got," Brendan said. Jared then went to the display case with the necklaces, and pulled out the entire selection. Brendan immediately saw one that caught his eye. "What about that one?" he said, pointing to a gold chain with a sparkling polished stone charm on the end of it.

"Ah, this one is a bit expensive. The stone at the center is actually a meteorite," he said.

"How expensive are we talking?" Brendan said.

"It's about one hundred thousand PokeDollars," Jared said. Brendan cringed a little bit.

"I think I've made about fifty thousand, but I'm nowhere near able to afford that," he said.

Jared nodded. "I figured that would be the case," he said.

"Are there any other pieces like that in this shop that I could afford?" Brendan asked.

"Honestly, no," Jared said with a bit of regret in his voice. "But I think I can give you a 50% discount on one condition."

"What's that?" Brendan said.

"I want you to come to me for when you're getting the most important piece of jewelry you'll ever get," he said. Brendan thought for a second before realizing what Jared meant.

"You want me to come to you for an engagement ring when the time comes, right?"

"Exactly," Jared said. "I don't know when that will be, but I want to be the one to hand-craft your ring for you."

"Wow, okay, I can do that," Brendan said. He pulled out his trainer card and walked over to the register. "I can't believe that I'm about to spend fifty grand on a necklace."

"You may want to get used to it man, you're getting to that point in your life," Jared said with a slight laugh as he rang up the sale.

"Yeah, I know," Brendan said with a begrudging tone as he swiped his card through the scanner. Jared smiled and put the necklace in a gift box.

"Here you go, Brendan. Be sure you give her that at the right time," Jared said with a smile.

"I already have a plan, don't worry," Brendan said.

Jared nodded. "That's good to hear. Now good luck," he said.

"Thanks," Brendan said as he left, pocketing the necklace box.

"Welcome everybody to the Fallarbor Pokémon Contest. I'm your host, Vivian Meridian!" Vivian said with confidence. Brendan was sitting in the front row with Gwen on his lap. Vivian went on to introduce the three usual judges, so Brendan mostly tuned her out.

 _So, Goldenrod, when are you going to give May that gift?_ Gwen said almost nonchalantly.

"Wait, how do you know about," Brendan started. "You were reading my thoughts, weren't you?"

 _Yes, I was. But I should tell you, this connection I have with you is getting a lot stronger. It's like I can almost hear what you're thinking even when I'm not trying to listen,_ she said as she thought on it deeply.

"Don't worry about it too much," Brendan said. "For now, let's just enjoy the contest."

Lisia, who was sitting in the crowd with Brendan and Gwen once again was listening to the two talking, and was already intrigued when she heard the word "gift."

"So, Brendan, what is this gift you got for May?" Lisia asked.

Brendan sighed. "Do you promise not to tell May about this?"

"Of course, otherwise it would ruin a hopefully wonderful surprise."

Brendan reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace box. "I got her some really expensive rocks," he said as he opened it. Lisia looked at it intently with a slight sparkle in her eye.

"Holy Distortion World, that must've cost you a fortune," Lisia said.

"Yeah, it did," Brendan said. "Pretty much everything I've won from battles."

"Ouch," Lisia said. "But I honestly think she will love it."

"Thanks," Brendan said. He looked up as the first contestant came onto the stage. He walked confidently as he sent out a Growlithe, who began with a Flame Wheel that worked its way around the stage, leaving a circle of flames around it. It then came to the center of the circle and unleashed a Fire Spin into the air, getting the fire on the ground to swirl together. It was an impressive performance. Brendan clapped, but he was really looking forward to seeing May perform. Unfortunately, she was in the direct middle of twenty appeals.

The next one to come up was none other than the crowned prince of douchebags, Chaz. He sent out Macherie, and started things off with a Flamethrower, an odd move for a Machoke, but nothing too strange for a contest. They then transitioned into a Focus Blast, which flew into the fire, catching the flames and starting to glow nicely. They then finished up with a Cross Chop, which Macherie pulled off well, cutting the fiery Focus Blast with her bare hands. The screen showed a score of 26. Pretty high for this contest, but not great.

"Wow, as annoying as he is, Chaz did pretty well," Lisia noted. "Still, May's performance will put him to shame.

Before May performed, however, Grace was on. "Delilah, let's dazzle them!" she called out. The Persian leapt from its Pokéball, ready for her performance. "Start things off with Power Gem!" The gemstone charm on Delilah's head began to shine brightly, sending out multiple purple gemstones that stayed floating in the air. "Now, use Thunderbolt!" Delilah's gemstone gathered electricity briefly before firing it at the nearest crystal. The lightning then branched out to the other gems, making a web of stones. "Now, Aerial Ace!" Delilah leapt into the air, her claws glowing as she slashed through the gems, making them burst and sparkle while they cascaded to the ground. Delilah stuck the landing and then took a bow with Grace.

"And a magnificent performance by Grace and her Persian!" Vivian said. "Let's see how the judges rule!" The screen's numbers rolled and stopped at a perfect 30. It was the first one in the contest. "Amazing! Great job, Grace. Now, it's time for our next contestant." Grace left the stadium with Delilah at her side. "Now, please welcome the next coordinator, the fast-rising star, May!"

That was when May came out on stage wearing the same contest costume she wore in the Slateport contest. "Wow, she looks even more beautiful than last time," Brendan said, almost breathlessly

Lisia smiled. "So, have you told her yet?"

"Told her what?" Brendan asked in confusion.

"That you love her," Lisia said with a knowing smirk.

Brendan blushed fiercely. "Wh-what? What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to play innocent.

"Brendan, you don't need to lie about it," Lisia said. "It's really obvious, actually. Isn't it, Gwen?"

 _Definitely,_ Gwen said with a smirk of her own.

"Can we just drop it for now? I want to watch May's performance closely," Brendan said.

"Fine, but you should tell her soon," Lisia said with her eyebrow raised slightly. Brendan nodded as he turned to watch May.

May took a deep breath as she got to the center of the stage, and she had Graham's Pokéball in her hand. "Alright, Graham, take the stage!" she called as she sent out the Wingull, who gave a slight screech. "Now, you know what to do! Start with Water Gun!" Graham fired a stream of water into the air. "Now use Supersonic!" Graham let loose a shriek that hit the water in the air, the sound pushing the water into a single sphere before breaking it up into multiple smaller spheres, pretty much forming bubbles in the air. "Now use Wing Attack!" Graham's wings began to glow as he flew through the bubbles. When he was halfway through the bubbles, however, the glowing of his wings spread through his entire body. May was stunned. "Graham, you're evolving," she said quietly as Graham began to change forms. His beak grew a pouch on the bottom and his body grew much larger than before. When the glowing ended, Graham was a Pelipper. He flew through the air, slicing the remainder of the bubbles before he glided onto May's out-stretched arm as she took a bow with the water misting and sparkling in the sunlight. The crowd burst into applause, watching the screen tally up May's final score. May turned to see it for herself, seeing that she had another perfect score.

"Well, with an evolution in the appeals round, almost like it was planned, I can see why May has a perfect score!" Vivian said. "Great job May, and good luck in the finals!" May smiled widely as she exited the stage, waving with her free arm to the crowd.

"Well, I should've guessed Graham was close to evolving," Brendan said with a chuckle. "After all, it seems that most of our Pokémon are now getting to that point."

 _Yeah, it seems like it,_ Gwen said quietly, not really speaking to anybody.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the second round participants to be selected from this wonderful field of coordinators," Vivian said. "The judges have made their decisions, it seems. So please direct your attention to the screen for the four finalists!" Brendan looked as directed, only to see what he was expecting based on the scores. Up first were Grace and Chaz, while May would be facing off against the Growlithe coordinator who started the appeals round, who was identified as Frank. This would be interesting.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the first two coordinators to come onto the stage. Please welcome both Grace and Chaz!" Vivian said enthusiastically as both coordinators re-entered the stadium. "There are five minutes on the clock, and each coordinator is going to be starting with 100 points. The one with the most points when the clock hits zero, or whoever makes the other coordinator's points hit zero is the winner. If either Pokémon is ruled unable to battle, then that is the end of the match. But you both know the rules, so without further ado, begin the match!"

"Delilah, dazzle them!" Grace called out.

"Macherie, show your strength!" Chaz said. Both Pokémon appeared on the stage, ready to go.

"I'll start us, Delilah, use Aerial Ace!" Grace said. Delilah raced across the field, her claws glowing as she closed the distance. She got within striking distance, only to be interrupted by Chaz's next command.

"Counter!" he said calmly. Macherie's body was surrounded by an orange aura as she grabbed Delilah and whipped the cat around and slamming her into the ground. Grace's points dropped to 75 rapidly, while Chaz's points only dropped to 87.

Grace seemed to smirk. "Use Slash!" she called. Delilah lunged up from directly under Macherie, swiping her claws across the Machoke's chest, sending the fighting-type flying across the battlefield. Chaz's points dropped to 60. "Now, use Aerial Ace before she can recover!" she commanded. She quickly leapt at Macherie, her claws once again glowing as she took another swipe. The attack struck perfectly, and Chaz's points dropped to 50.

"Macherie, get up and use Karate Chop!" Chaz called. Macherie got up and leapt at Delilah, her arm glowing as she closed the distance.

"Delilah, dodge and use Aerial Ace once more!" Grace commanded. Lilah dipped under the attack as it swiped overhead. She then leapt in and slashed Macherie once again. That dropped Chaz's points to 25. Barely a minute and a half had gone by and the match was already almost over, and a clear victor was already visible.

"How'd I know that Grace was going to win this round too?" Brendan asked rhetorically.

"I know what you mean. She's always been really good at contests, even before I met her, when she was on the Sinnoh circuits," Lisia said as Delilah delivered another devastating Aerial Ace, dropping Chaz's points to zero and ending the match.

"Congratulations to Grace for advancing to the final round! Now, it's time for the next round to begin!" she said as Grace and Chaz made their way off the stage. "I am now happy to introduce the next round's contestants, May, and Frank!" Brendan smiled as he watched May come onto the stage again, and she looked confident. Frank was also looking confident, but Brendan was certain May would triumph in this round. "Now, you know the rules already. Five minutes on the clock, now BEGIN!"

"Graham, take the stage!" May called as she sent out her newly evolved Pelipper.

"Karliah, come on out!" Frank said, letting out the fire dog.

"I'll start this with Supersonic!" May said. Graham shrieked, sending a wave that hit Karliah, confusing her.

"Karliah, use Bite!" Frank said. Karliah, however, was too disoriented and wound up stumbling and tripping over herself. Frank's points dropped to 90.

"Now, Graham, use Water Gun!" May called. Graham fired a powerful stream of water that drenched the Growlithe and pushed her back, dropping Frank's points to 65.

"Karliah, snap out of it and use Flamethrower!" Frank said. Karliah seemed to get out of her confused daze. She let out a stream of flames toward Graham.

"Dodge and use Mist!" May called out. Just as the fire flew by, Graham flew up and around the flames, opening his beak as a dense fog spilled out of it and filled the stage. "Now, Wing Attack!" Graham's wings began to glow as he flew at Karliah, striking multiple times and creating many flashes of light that brightened the entire cloud of fog before returning to the ground. Frank's score dropped to 30 with that attack.

"Bite!" Frank called. Karliah ran and leapt at Graham, biting his wing. May's points began to steadily drop.

"Graham, use Supersonic once more!" May called out. Graham shrieked loudly, once again disorienting Karliah, who let go of his wing. "Now finish it with Water Gun!" Graham fired another torrent of water at Karliah, pushing her out of the battlefield. The sound of three separate buzzers sounded, indicating that judges had ruled a knock out.

"And that's it for the semifinals! May advances to the final round against Grace!" Vivian said. "There will be a five minute interim for May and Graham to recuperate, but then we will begin the final battle!"

In the tunnel to the stage, Grace was standing and waiting for May. "Well, that was certainly impressive," she said. "But I have to tell you that you won't be winning this contest."

"We will definitely have to see about that, won't we Grace?" May said with confidence.

"Well, I don't think I've told you this yet, but since before this year's Petalburg contest when you joined, I've been working on ribbon number five. I have one more ribbon to go before I qualify for the grand festival," Grace said with a confident smile. "But since you joined, I've been unable to grab that last ribbon, but that's all going to change today."

"Maybe, but I won't let you win it without giving it my all!" May said.

"Perfect, I don't want it to be easy," Grace said. May smiled.

"I'm glad to have you as a rival, Grace," she said before the one minute countdown started.

"Well, time to see who wins this one," Grace said confidently as she walked past May toward the tunnel. May followed her, ready to battle.

"Alright, this is it ladies and gentlemen! This is it. These two have faced off in the finals regularly, so this is bound to be a heated battle. It's May and Grace!" Vivian said. The two coordinators came onto the stage side-by-side before separating to take their positions. "Five minutes are on the clock once again. BEGIN!"

"Delilah, let's dazzle them once more!" Grace called out, sending out her Persian.

"Graham, take the stage!" May called, the Pelipper flying out of his Pokéball gracefully. "I'll start us off. Use Water Pulse!" Graham fired off three rings of water that struck hard, sending Delilah sliding back, but only briefly.

Grace just smiled. "Use Power Gem!" she called out. Delilah's crystal began to glow as multiple crystals flew out of it going directly at Graham.

"Fly up to dodge, and then use Wing Attack!" May called out. Graham leapt into the air, flapping twice to start flying. He then flew at Delilah, his wings glowing white as he prepared his attack.

"Aerial Ace!" Grace shouted. Delilah's claws began to glow as she leapt into the air as she prepared to slash Graham. Unfortunately for May, Delilah proved to be the faster of the two. May took a look at the screen. She was at 60 points, while Grace was at 70. She brushed it off, she could still win this.

"Graham, use Supersonic!" May called out. Graham let loose another shriek, disorienting Delilah. "Now, use Water Pulse once more!" Graham fired another set of three rings of water at Delilah. The attack hit the Persian head-on, and Grace's points dropped to 60, even with May's.

"Delilah, use Power Gem again!" Grace called. Once again, May was the bearer of bad luck. Delilah seemed to have already reoriented herself, and she had no trouble firing off more gem stones into the air. At first, Graham seemed to be dodging the attacks well, but then a smaller stone hid behind a larger one, and Graham flew right into it. Graham fell to the ground, unable to right himself in time. May watched as her points dropped to 30. Graham struggled to his feet, but it was too late. "Sorry for this May, but it's over. Delilah, use Thunderbolt!"

May's eyes widened. She had forgotten Delilah knew that attack. "Graham, try to dodge it!" she cried, desperation clear in her voice. That, however, seemed like it would do no good as Delilah fired multiple bolts of electricity that crossed the distance in a matter of seconds. Graham had only just managed to get steady when the attack hit. He was thrown back and he landed at May's feet. He was knocked out, and May watched her points drop to zero.

"No, I lost?" May muttered in shock. She knelt down by Graham. "Hey, you fought really well. Get a good rest, because you've earned it." Grace gave Delilah a pet before recalling her and walking over to May.

"Hey, you fought really well," Grace said sincerely. May, who had some tears forming in her eyes, dried her eyes and stood up. "Don't let yourself get down about a loss. Everybody loses at some point, just keep your chin up."

"Thanks, but don't worry, I'll be fine," May said, although she really didn't feel what she said.

Brendan, however, could tell from a distance that she was getting down. _Maybe now wouldn't be the best time to give her the necklace,_ he thought.

 _Hey Brendan, I have an idea to help May cheer up_ , Gwen said.

 _I'm listening,_ Brendan replied.

 _Take her to Meteor Falls. I hear it's a beautiful location. You can see the stars very clearly at night._

Brendan mulled it over for a little bit. _Okay, that's a good idea. I'll take her there and give her the necklace when the time is right._

After the contest, and their goodbyes with Lisia and Grace, May was laying on her bed in the Pokémon Center, her face buried in a pillow. "Why," she said. "Why did I lose? I was so confident, but I failed." That was when she felt a weight on the bed next to her.

"Hey," Brendan said as he sat down and began to stroke her hair. "You didn't fail. You gave it your all, and you performed brilliantly. So you lost this time, it's no big deal. You're still new to contests compared to Grace."

May just started to curl up, her back to Brendan. "But I was able to beat her before. Why did I lose to her now?"

Brendan sighed. "You need to clear your head. Come with me, I think I know where you can do that." He picked up May and got her to her feet.

Gwen then levitated onto Brendan's shoulders. _I'm coming too, Arceus knows you two couldn't protect yourselves against wild Pokémon._ Brendan chuckled as he led the way out of the Pokémon Center, heading to the west. They walked for about ten minutes when they could hear a waterfall nearby. They saw a small cliff with a beautiful waterfall, but what really caught their attention was the small mountain that looked to be dotted with craters. That was when May seemed to perk up.

"You're taking me to Meteor Falls," she said more than she asked.

Brendan smiled as he continued to lead the way. "Yeah, I figured you could use some time to get away from everything and just relax." May suddenly felt more tears in her eyes, but this time they were out of joy. What had she done to deserve such a great boyfriend? They walked for another ten minutes, avoiding the patches of tall grass so they wouldn't run into any wild Pokémon They climbed up to one of the highest points they could reach without going into the caves.

"Alright, what is this all about? You obviously have something planned," May asked, her excitement starting to bubble.

"Well, I was hoping to give you this as a celebratory gift, but cheering you up works too," Brendan said as he reached into his pocket. "May, I–"

"HELP, SOMEBODY HELP ME!" came a voice as it echoed from the cave.

"Damn it!" Brendan said. "Hey, mind if we put this on hold for now?" May, who was not happy about having the romantic moment ruined, begrudgingly agreed. The two ran toward the caves, Gwen teleporting onto Brendan's shoulder. When they entered the cavern, they would have been astounded by the beauty of the cave; that is if there wasn't a band of Team Magma thugs who seemed to be mugging a man in a lab coat. Standing a short ways away from the grunts was a man in the Team Magma attire, but he had a cape and his uniform was made of much higher quality material. That other member was clearly in charge.

"Alright buddy, just hand over that meteorite and this beating will stop!" the leader said. Brendan and May both ran forward.

"HEY!" Brendan called. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" The grunts stopped attacking the man, one of them holding up a rock similar in color to the one in May's necklace. That was when the leader turned to acknowledge the newer development.

"Oh, so the two brats we were told to keep an eye on have decided to try and interfere with our plans?" the leader said. "Well, you should know that it will not end well for you three, counting your cute little Kirlia."

"Commander Tabitha, sir, we have what we came for, do we have your orders to move out?" one of the grunts asked.

Tabitha took on a sinister look. "Don't you remember the orders?" He pulled out a Pokéball. "I'll take care of these two."

"May," Brendan said, his voice having a worried edge to it. "Get back, Gwen and I will handle this."

"O-ok," May said as she backed up toward the exit of the cave. That was when Tabitha smiled even more evilly.

"Boy, have you forgotten? We're a criminal organization. We don't play by the rules!" Tabitha said. Just as the last words left the commander's mouth, Brendan felt a solid impact from a fist on the back of his head, and everything went dark as he collapsed.

"BRENDAN!" May called out. Tabitha then sent out a Golbat, which spat out a ball of sludge, hitting Gwen and knocking her out in one hit. Now May was terrified as multiple grunts surrounded her.

"Alright, take care of her and bring her with us," Tabitha said. "Leave the boy and his Pokémon." One of the grunts, who had gotten behind May, hit her head, knocking her out. "Now, let's go to Mt. Chimney, our leader is waiting for us.

"Scamp!" came a slightly familiar voice. Brendan was only aware of three things at this point: he was laying on stone, some guy was calling him, and his head was throbbing. "Hey, Scamp! Get up!" Brendan's eyes shot open and he bolted upright, immediately regretting it as his head began to throb even more. He looked around, seeing Gwen kneeling near him, and he felt a lot of relief knowing that she was okay. Then he looked for the source of the voice, only to come face-to-face with the leader of Team Aqua, Archie, with a lot of grunts behind him.

"What the hell?" Brendan said.

"Relax kid, we aren't here to harm you. We were after Team Magma, hoping to prevent them from getting a meteorite. Seems we were too late," Archie said.

Brendan clutched his head again. "May, is May alright?" The question seemed to confuse Archie.

"Kid, you and your Kirlia are the only ones here other than us," he said.

Brendan's eyes went wide. "That means they took her," he said, getting frantic. "Team Magma took her!" Archie looked at the grunts.

"Kid, I think I know where she might be. I'll help you get there," he said.

Brendan narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "And why should I trust you?"

Archie didn't seem angered by the question. In fact, he seemed to be expecting it. "Because we have a common enemy at the moment," he said. "I can get you to this May girl, and I get the feeling that you'll be able to help us with Team Magma."

Brendan thought for a moment, looking to Gwen, who nodded her approval. "Alright, we're allies for now. Only until I get May back," he said. "After that, I could care less about your team."

Archie nodded. "Fine by me." He helped Brendan to his feet and then led the way out of the caves. He didn't notice, however, the newly awoken fire in Brendan's eyes.

 _May, I swear I will save you!_

 **Hey everybody, hope you enjoyed that chapter. Please let me know what you think in the reviews. Be honest, but don't be a jerk about it (there are a few examples of this in the reviews already).**

 **One quick explanation though: I absolutely hated the new design for Tabitha in ORAS. He looked much more bad-ass with his Emerald design, so I used that one.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading. Until next time – jmoul18.**


	24. A Desperate Rescue

_A Desperate Rescue_

"Girl," said a deep voice. May was just beginning to regain awareness. She was currently sure of three things: it was unimaginably hot, she was tied to something, and her head felt like it was about to split open. Her eyes began to flutter open, as she fully returned to consciousness. She was looking at a red haired man with glasses, but she had yet to take in her surroundings.

"Wh-who are you?" she asked. "And where am I?"

"My name is Maxie, I'm the leader of Team Magma. And if you take a look around, you will see where we are. May did as he said, seeing a lot of volcanic rock. Below her was a glass floor, and when she looked through it, she screamed.

"Why are we on a platform over lava?" she cried out.

"It's for an increase in effectiveness of the machine you're currently tied to, but you don't need to know what it does exactly. By the way, we took your pack and Pokéballs, and they're hanging above you. Take a look," Maxie said. May looked up, seeing her fanny pack with her Pokéballs on it hanging just above her. And sitting just above that, was a massive purple bat with four wings. "That is Wayne, my Crobat. He will be watching you to make sure you don't do anything I don't approve of. Now, be a good girl, and stay quiet." With that, Maxie pulled out a blue handkerchief that looked like it was from Team Aqua. "Here, this should help you hold your tongue." He forced May's mouth open and pushed the handkerchief inside. He then took another piece of cloth and tied it tightly over her mouth and around her head multiple times. She had no way of getting it off on her own. He then walked over to the controls for the machine, and was quickly absorbed in whatever he was doing. That was until the sound of a helicopter could be heard. Maxie looked up to find the source before getting back to work, this time he was moving much faster than before.

Meanwhile, Brendan and Gwen were in a Team Aqua helicopter, flying to Mt. Chimney. "Alright, Scamp, let's review the plan again, because you're obviously not getting this!" Archie said. "When we land, you are going to take on the grunts while I take on Maxie. This is the only strategy that ensures Team Aqua will have victory. You keep saying that you're going to get this May girl at all costs, but–"

"I don't give two shits about Team Aqua winning! I thought I made it very clear to you; I am not one of your grunts that you can order around. Once this helicopter lands, I could care less if you were thrown into the volcano. And if May is harmed by the time I get there, so help me both Team Aqua and Team Magma will not survive, because I will see to it that you're all wiped out," Brendan said. Archie flinched back, now that the boy was finally looking him in the eye, there was an undeniable anger and ferocity that hadn't been there when they met in the museum in Slateport. Archie was about to open his mouth to argue, but was cut off when the helicopter landed, and the doors opened. Brendan and Gwen were out of the door within seconds.

"Damn, everybody get moving. Don't let that kid beat us to Team Magma!" Archie called out.

Brendan, however, was not about to wait. Gwen was on his shoulder, and they were moving fast. The first group of Magma grunts didn't notice him, but that was alright. He only had one goal, and he could plainly see a strange platform with white metal edges and a glass floor. There was a square machine with a strange casing on top. Perched on top of the casing was a Pokémon Brendan recognized from Johto: a Crobat. It was a hunch, but Brendan had a strong feeling that May was there.

 _Brendan, there are three members of Team Magma up ahead, and they know you're coming. They have their Pokémon out already,_ Gwen said.

"That's fine with me," Brendan said as he got out Turk's Pokéball. "With a name like Team Magma, they probably use ground and fire types. This will be a great battle for Turk."

 _You should know that the guy who knocked me out in Meteor Falls used a Golbat, so there are bound to be some of them. Maybe some Poochyena and their evolution line,_ Gwen said.

"We can take care of them without a problem," Brendan replied as they rounded the corner. Just as Gwen said, there were three Magma members ready. One, however, Brendan recognized. "Tabitha!"

"Oh, so you remember me!" the lieutenant said with a sinister smirk. "I was wondering if that hit would cause some damage, maybe some memory loss." While he was mocking, Brendan had been busy scanning the Pokémon that the trio had out with his Pokedex. There were five in total. Two Numels, one Zubat, a Golbat, and a Baltoy. This would be simple except for the Golbat. That would be troublesome.

Brendan was about to send out Turk when a Mightyena leapt over them and began fighting the Magma grunts. "Scamp! I'll take care of these clowns, you go stop Maxie!" Archie said as his own Crobat entered the fray.

Brendan was genuinely surprised that Archie would help him, but he didn't have time for that. "Gwen, teleport us past those three," Brendan said.

 _On it!_ Gwen said as she made Brendan and herself disappear and reappear right behind the line of Team Magma. Brendan began to sprint to the glass platform, and as he drew closer, he could begin to see May, and what he saw angered him. She was tied to the machine, bound and gagged. That just pissed him off more.

"MAXIE!" Brendan shouted, getting the attention of the man at the machine, who Brendan assumed was in charge. His appearance definitely fit that of the boss of a criminal organization. When Brendan saw the Crobat look at him, however, he got a sinking feeling that he was about to get in over his head.

"So, you're the boy who tried to interfere with our plans at Meteor Falls," Maxie said as he knelt down next to May. "Well, you should know that if you hadn't gotten involved in our affairs, then we would not have had to take your little friend here." He ran his finger over her cheek, making her flinch in response. Maxie gave a cackle.

"Get the hell away from her!" Brendan roared. "I challenge you to a battle."  
Maxie grinned evilly. "I was expecting that. You see, unlike that gibbering oaf, Archie, I am a man of logic and science. He and his followers are under the delusion that expanding the sea is a good idea, and will bring prosperity to humanity, but I know better. Expanding the landmass is the true way to better the human race, and improve the lives of Pokémon too. See, my goals are noble. Do you really want to interfere?"

Brendan kept glaring "You're insane," he said. "But I couldn't care less about what you're planning. I want you to release May!" He could see that she was silently pleading with him to not do anything reckless.

Maxie looked over to his Crobat. "Wayne, go, let's show them how dangerous it is to battle Team Magma." The bat Pokémon fluttered off the machine, and he looked ready for battle. Brendan noticed as May was viciously wrenching and fighting against her restraints.

"What the hell are you doing here? Get away from him!" May said, or at least tried to say, all that could be heard was "MMPHM HMMPH!" in a very shrill tone. Brendan couldn't make out a word of what she said.

"An extremely fast Poison/Flying type, shit," Brendan said. "Well, Nikki, looks like you're up!" he threw out Nikki's Pokéball, and the Vigoroth came out looking angry.

"Wayne, use Poison Fang!" Maxie said. Wayne's teeth began to glow purple with acid and poison. He rushed Nikki, moving so fast that Brendan didn't even have time to issue a counter command. Nikki was hit hard as she slid over the stone.

"Nikki! Are you alright?" Brendan called to her. She gave a shaky grunt in response. _This will be much harder than I expected._ "Alright, try using Rock Tomb!" Nikki grabbed multiple boulders from the area and began throwing them rapidly at the enemy Crobat. The rocks would've been tough to dodge for any other opponent, but Crobat proved to be too fast for that attack. He dodged them almost effortlessly. "Try using Faint Attack!" Nikki leapt into the shadows of the rocks, drawing Wayne in as he tried to use another Poison Fang attack. Just as he closed in, Nikki leapt out and punched Wayne.

"Wing Attack!" Maxie said coldly. Wayne began to fly directly back at Nikki, his wings glowing brightly.

"Counter that with Slash!" Brendan commanded. Nikki leapt at Wayne with her claws glowing. The two attackers collided, battling fiercely to push the other back. Thankfully, Nikki was only using one claw, so she was able to use the other to slash Wayne across his face. The bat fluttered away. "Great, now try another Rock Tomb, try to slow him down!" Once again, Nikki began to throw stones at Wayne once more. This time, the dazed bat had more trouble dodging. Three of the stones struck Wayne's body, while a fourth hit and broke one of his wings. "Nice shot! That should slow him down!"

"Wayne, use Toxic!" Maxie called. Wayne, who was on his last legs for this battle, flew in quickly, getting within inches of Nikki before spitting a glob of toxins at her. Nikki couldn't dodge in time, and she was hit. When that happened, she began to look very sickly.

"Nikki, use Slash once more and finish this!" Brendan said. Nikki leapt at Wayne with a dangerous look of anger as she slashed him once more across the body. Wayne collapsed to the ground, completely knocked out. Maxie recalled the Crobat with a look that was definitely bad for Brendan. He didn't even look concerned that he had just lost this round. Brendan glanced over at Gwen. "Hey, I need you to get May's belt off that machine. It has her Pokémon on it, and we can't let them stay in Maxie's hands."

 _Yeah, you got it,_ Gwen said. She concentrated for a moment before the belt was teleported into Brendan's hands. Brendan placed the belt on the ground, and he refocused on the battle.

"MPHHMMM! MMPHHMMM!" May shouted as she tried to pull on her restraints, feeling the rope begin to rub her arm raw and some blood beginning to run down her arm, dripping off the tip of her finger onto the glass floor.

"Go, Oscar!" Maxie said as he let out his next Pokémon. What came out was a Mightyena, and it looked really angry.

"So, a Dark type," Brendan said. "Nikki, return!" Nikki would not have lasted out there much longer, so it would be best to not let her get hurt any more than she already had. "Clint, it's your turn!" Brendan sent out his Grovyle.

"I see, so you chose a grass type when you first started your journey," Maxie said in a cold and calculating voice.

"Clint, let's show them your newest attack, Leaf Blade!" Brendan called out. Like with Fury Cutter, Clint's arm leaves began to glow brightly, but they were now a deep green. Clint sprinted in, closing the distance in no time before mercilessly slashing Oscar.

"Oscar, fight back with Fire Fang!" Maxie called out. Just as Clint was about to land his fourth blow, Oscar's teeth lit up with fire and he bit Clint's arm. Clint cried out in pain as his arm was burned severely, and the heat the volcano was giving off was making the burn hurt worse.

"Use Bullet Seed to get out of there!" Brendan called out. Clint began firing a stream of energy-coated seeds into Oscar's face, making the wolf let him go. "Alright, we need to end this as soon as possible. Use Screech!" Clint began screeching loudly, making Oscar shrink back to try protecting his hearing. "Now, mix Fury Cutter and Leaf Blade!" On Grovyle's right arm, where he had been burned, he started a Leaf Blade, and on his left he started a Fury Cutter. He closed the distance quickly as he began to hack and slash at Oscar. This time, Clint was even more merciless than before, and even more effective.

"Oscar, use Ice Fang!" Maxie commanded. Oscar's teeth then began to take on an icy glow as his breath fogged from the cold. He bit Clint again, this time on his chest. Clint cried out as the ice slowly crept over his body. "Now use Dark Pulse!" Oscar whipped his head around, throwing Clint into the air like a ragdoll. He then fired a stream of intertwined black rings that hit their target perfectly. Clint gave a cry in pain as he fell to the ground, hitting his back hard. He was unable to continue, and Brendan knew it.

"Clint, return!" Brendan said. "Thank you my friend. I promise we will win this." He then picked out Turk's Pokéball. "Turk you're up!" The little crawfish was eager to battle at this point, and his eagerness showed. "Turk, don't let your guard down. This battle will be unlike anything you've ever experienced." Turk nodded.

"Oh please, you don't have a chance. Oscar, use Thunder Fang!" Maxie called. The Mightyena's teeth began to crackle with electricity as he sprinted at Turk.

"Turk, use Protect!" Brendan called out. Turk was surrounded in a green sphere as Oscar bite down. The sphere threw the dog back, but he just looked angrier. Brendan was getting angrier now. Surely Clint had weakened Oscar enough. Well, no use in holding back anything now. "Drop the shield and use Aqua Jet!" Turk did as he was told. Once the sphere of energy fell, he was surrounded by a sphere of water that quickly turned into a bullet shape. Oscar couldn't dodge in time, and he was sent flying into a nearby rock. Turk skidded to a stop as he returned to Brendan.

Maxie recalled Oscar without a word. He then threw his third, and it seemed like his final Pokéball. "Aesir, you're up my friend." The Pokémon that came out looked like a yak with blue rings on the side and two volcanos on its back, and it didn't just look ready to battle. It looked extremely confident. What had Brendan worried, though, was the multi-colored stone around Aesir's neck.

 _A Camerupt,_ Gwen said. _It's a walking volcano, and it has a temper. But that's not what has me worried. You see that stone around its neck?_

"Yeah, what about it?" Brendan asked.

 _That's Cameruptite. It's Camerupt's mega evolution stone. This one might be able to mega evolve,_ Gwen said.

"Shit, that's really bad for us. We may not be able to win this," Brendan said.

 _Don't doubt us,_ Gwen said. _Turk and I combined may be able to beat it._ Brendan nodded. He knew now that Maxie had just been gauging him; testing his true strength as a trainer and seeing if he would need to go all out.

"Aesir, it's time to Mega Evolve!" Maxie said, touching the side of his glasses, which Brendan just now realized had the keystone. Multiple streams of energy extended from Aesir's stone and Maxie's keystone which then connected. The connection caused Aesir's body to take on a multi-colored glow as he began to change physically. His two volcanoes converged into one, three large rocks extended from the three rings on each of his sides. His fur got much longer, including the tufts on the top of his head. When the glow faded, the defining details were shown. There was an "M" shaped marking on his forehead, and there was lava flowing from the volcano on his back.

"MMMMMMMMHHHHHMPH!" May screamed. Brendan knew she was screaming at him, pleading with him to run before it was too late. He also noticed that both her arms were bleeding now, forming a small puddle of blood under her.

"Alright, no more playing around," Brendan said quietly, his blood starting to boil with anger, before turning to Turk. "Hey, Turk, you will need to follow my calls to the letter if we're going to win this. Do you understand me?" Turk must have detected the urgency in Brendan's voice. He nodded in full understanding. "Good, then start this off with another Aqua Jet!" Turk leapt at Aesir, he was covered with the water bullet again. Once again, there was no time for Aesir to dodge. What scared Brendan, though, was that Maxie didn't even try to call for a dodge.

"Lava Plume!" the Magma boss called out. Brendan's eyes went wide as he watched the Mega Camerupt's volcano erupt with an enormous amount of lava. Turk had little chance of dodging and he was covered with lava briefly.

Unbeknownst to the two combatants, the attack had effects outside the battle, as multiple drops of lava hit the glass floor of the platform, melting through and dripping onto the metal support beams. May was still trying to scream out a warning about it, she was fairly certain that her arm was going to be bruised for a while if she made it out of this.

Turk used another Aqua Jet to clear the lava off his body, but he was only able to slowly get to Brendan's feet before collapsing. Brendan's eyes were wide with fear at this point. _What the hell have I gotten myself into?_ He thought as he called his Corphish back to his Pokéball.

 _Brendan, don't give up, May needs us!_ Gwen shouted, snapping her trainer out of his fear.

"You're right," Brendan said as came back to himself. "Are you ready?"

 _I think so, but I doubt I ever will be ready for a challenge this big,_ Gwen said.

"Yeah, you're right again," Brendan said. "But regardless of if we were ready, we're here now, and we have no choice but to keep fighting."

 _Alright, now enough motivational speeches, let's get this over with._

Brendan steeled his nerves, still hearing May's muffled screaming, seeing that the blood pool had grown wider, some of it trickling off the edge and into the volcano. This would be the hardest thing he and Gwen had done to this point, but they had to win. "Gwen, start with a Double Team and Calm Mind combination. Keep using both until you can't raise your strength anymore!" Gwen followed Brendan's orders, creating countless clones of herself, littering the entire section of the mountain with her copies. Then each one was surrounded by a green aura as Gwen boosted her special attack and defense, working to get them to their maximum level.

"That won't work!" Maxie said. "Aesir, use another Lava Plume!" Aesir erupted once again, the lava landing on and destroying almost half the clones. Gwen silently cursed. She continued to power up, but the chance that Maxie would miss the next was just cut in half. "Now, use Earth Power!" Aesir stomped on the ground, causing the stone to crack under many of the copies, cutting the number in half again. Gwen just kept focusing. She hadn't been hit, but she wasn't quite at the level she needed to be. "Use Rock Slide!" Maxie called out. With a cry, Aesir stomped the ground again, this time causing rocks to cascade from one of the cliff faces overhead. Gwen was just about to where she needed to be. Then a stone clipped her shoulder. There came a great deal of pain, but she kept concentrating. She needed to if she would save May.

Meanwhile, May was thrashing in fear, trying to get free of her bindings or at least get the gag out. The platform she was on was taking too much abuse. There was no way it would be able to hold out for much longer. Just as she was thinking that, three panels of glass fell from the platform, one of which was right next to her.

"Gwen, are you ready?" Brendan called in desperation.

 _Three…two…one!_ Gwen said. _READY!_

"Great, now finish this with Psychic!" Brendan called out. Gwen's psychic aura was so powerful now that all the rest of her clones disappeared as she was surrounded by a dark blue aura, unlike anything she'd ever produced. Aesir had no chance to escape her grasp before he was thrown not just into a rock, but clear across the volcano's top, crashing into the wall on the other side, and reverting to his normal form. There was no doubt that Maxie had lost as his eyes went wide.

"Aesir!" he called in concern as he ran off the platform and started to make his way to where his Pokémon had landed.

Brendan, however had no interest in that, and neither did Gwen, who was now standing at the edge where the stone transitioned to the glass of the platform, three more panels having fallen or been melted by the Lava Plume attacks. _Brendan, that platform won't hold out. It's taken too much damage from that battle. Get May and get off of that thing as soon as possible._

"Alright, but you stay on the rocks, got it!" Brendan said as he took off his Pokéball belt and placed it near May's. Gwen, with a look of absolute terror in her eyes, just nodded. Brendan then made his way onto the platform, which creaked with his weight.

May was screaming at him to stay away, trying to say that he should leave her. But Brendan listened to none of it as he got to the machine May was tied to. He pulled a survival knife out of a side pocket of his bag, it was something he was so glad he had thought to pack it when he left home. With it, he cut both the cloth tied around May's head and the rope holding her to the machine. When she was free, May pulled the Team Aqua bandana out of her mouth, coughing slightly.

"Brendan, you crazy idiot!" May said as she embraced him. "Why didn't you run?"

"I couldn't leave my girl. Now, hugs later, we need to get off this thing," Brendan said. That was when he saw that the machine was holding the meteorite that Tabitha had taken in Meteor Falls. He didn't know why, but he had the feeling that he would need it later on. So, when they stood up, Brendan quickly grabbed the space rock and pulled it out of the machine.

 _Guys! Hurry!_ Gwen shouted. Just as Brendan and May took their first steps back to safety, however, the platform groaned even louder than before, and instead of just stopping there, a crash resounded across the entire mountain top. Brendan looked through the floor, seeing that both the supports had broken. He looked to Gwen, his eyes showing nothing but fear. Gwen was the same.

 _No,_ she said, her voice quivering. _No!_ Just as she said that, the platform gave out, and Brendan and May began to fall toward the lava. _DAMN IT, I ALREADY SAID I'M NOT LOSING YOU TOO!_ Gwen shouted, her entire body glowing bright white. She grew to just over five feet tall, her hair came closer to her head, making a more mature style. Her dress became a ball gown and her head spikes disappeared, reforming as a single chest spike. Her evolution, however, was the last thing on her mind. With the new boost in psychic power and the remaining effects of the previous battle, she extended her power, catching the two trainers just in time.

Brendan and May, however, saw none of the evolution. Brendan just held May close, ignoring the blood on her arms. "May!" he called over the howling of the wind.

"What?" May said, fear in her eyes as they fell.

"We don't have much time left, so before we die you should know something," Brendan said.

"I know, you don't have to say anything," May said. "I love you too." She gave him a kiss on the lips, tears in her eyes as they drew closer to the lava below them. But then they suddenly stopped.

"Wh-what just happened?" Brendan asked.

"I don't know," May said. In an instant, however, they landed back on the solid rock where the platform used to be.

Brendan sat up when he looked around, and right were Gwen had been when the platform fell was what looked like an older version of his first Pokemon. "Gwen? Is that you?" he said.

The Pokémon turned around, tears in her eyes, and threw herself at both Brendan and May, hugging them tightly. _Damn it, don't you two ever do anything like that to me again!_ This was a new voice for her, but Brendan knew it was Gwen. She now sounded like a woman in her twenties.

"Trust me, we're not doing anything like that ever again," May said.

"Yeah, volcanic base-jumping really isn't fun now that I've tried it," Brendan said, earning a slight chuckle, but that was all that he got. And he understood why. "Hey, May, you know I still have something for you."

Gwen sensed what Brendan meant, so she let them out of the hug, and helped both of them to their feet. "Wait, before you do, let's get our Pokéballs first," May said. Gwen, however, was one step ahead. She teleported the two belts to her hands and gave them to their respective trainers. When that was finished, Brendan started where he left off at Meteor Falls, pulling the jewelry box from his pocket. It had miraculously stayed in during the fall.

"I wanted to give you this last night, but we were interrupted," Brendan said as he handed her the box. May gasped.

"So, this is what you did when you went off on your own the day before the contest," she said. May then opened the box, seeing the pendant and she lost all words for a moment. "Oh, Brendan, it's beautiful!" She took it out of the box and put it on. "I love it!"

Brendan smiled. "I love you," he said as he kissed her on the lips. Then he broke the kiss briefly. "And I promise you that I will never let anybody take you ever again."

 _WOOOOOOO!_ Gwen teased with a smile. This just made Brendan and May burst out laughing.

"Well, Scamp, that was an impressive fight you had there!" Archie said as he approached them. Brendan stepped in front of May, defensively, and Gwen teleported in front of him. "Relax, I'm not here to cause trouble. I just came here to ask you something."

Brendan glared slightly. "Go on," he said.

"After seeing this whole thing, are you now convinced that Team Magma must be stopped? Team Aqua could use somebody like you in our ranks," Archie said.

"You're right, Team Magma is a bunch of fanatics who will go to dangerous, even deadly lengths to accomplish their goals," Brendan said. Archie nodded.

"I thought so," Archie said. "You can start as a member tomorrow!"

"I never said I'd join Team Aqua," Brendan said. "In fact, after hearing that you plan to expand the sea, I can tell that you are no different from Team Magma. As far as I can tell, you're no different, and you're just as willing to go to such lengths to achieve your goals." That earned a glare from the Aqua boss.

"I should've figured that'd be the case," Archie said as he scanned over the two trainers and the newly evolved Gardevoir. "I'll let it go for now. You two just need more time and you'll eventually understand my way of thinking." With that, he left, shortly after that, the Team Aqua helicopter flew away, heading east.

"Ok, I'm going to say that is enough excitement for one day," May said. "Let's get off this Arceus-forsaken mountain and find a Pokémon Center."

 _I couldn't agree more,_ Gwen said with a smile as she led the way toward Mt. Chimney's Jagged Pass. _But you should know that this walk won't be pleasant._

"Of course it won't be," Brendan said, slightly sarcastically as they started down the treacherous path.

 **Wow, that was an exciting chapter to write. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review, and let me know what you liked and where you think I can improve.**

 **A fair warning, I know in chapter 12, I said there would be no lemons. However, considering what just happened in the story, I think I said that pre-emptively, because now it fits with the plot of the story. For those of you who don't like lemons in your stories, skip the next chapter. This will only be a one-time (Maybe two) thing in this story.**

 **As always, thanks for reading. Until next time – jmoul18.**


	25. The HOT Springs

**Hello everybody, so, I thought I would preface this with a fair warning. This chapter contains some explicit sexual content. If you are unable to read it maturely, then do not read this chapter, and wait for the next one, or skip over the lemon scene (I will have it sectioned off). From now on, this story will be rated M. This will be my first lemon chapter, so since I'm doing it, I will hold nothing back. For this chapter, however, should you review, I would prefer if you don't bring up the…details.**

 _The HOT Springs_

Gwen, Brendan, and May made their way down the final slope of Jagged Pass, and they were thoroughly exhausted. _We're almost there,_ Gwen said breathlessly. The sun was on the verge of setting, so it was just about time for them to be finding a bed for the night.

"Thank Arceus, I thought we would never get out of there," Brendan said. He smiled to May, who blushed a deep crimson when she smiled back. Brendan could see that something was on her mind, he just couldn't tell what. That thought faded quickly when they broke the tree line and saw their destination: Lavaridge Town.

"Oh man, I can't wait to get a nice bath in those hot springs!" May said.

"There are hot springs here?" Brendan asked in surprise.

"Yeah, Lavaridge is famous for them," May said happily.

"Oh man, I haven't had a good hot spring bath in a long time," Brendan said. "I think it was in Ecruteak City three years ago."

"Wow, that's pretty long. But from what I hear, the Pokémon Center here has a premium room that has its own private hot spring," May said.

"Well, let's hope we can get that room. When I went to Ecruteak's springs, there were a lot of senior citizens," Brendan said, earning a laugh.

 _That must have been unsightly,_ Gwen said as they walked through town, heading toward the Pokémon Center. As they passed the PokeMart, a person accidentally bumped into Gwen's arm, specifically the one that had been hit by Aesir's Rock Slide on Mt. Chimney. Gwen cried out, grabbing her arm. She hadn't been using it that much during their trip down Jagged Pass, so she hadn't really thought much of the throbbing coming from her arm.

"Gwen, are you alright?" Brendan said as he rushed to her side.

 _Yeah, I'm fine, it just hurts from that battle,_ she said, trying to play it off as no big deal. One look at Brendan told her he wasn't buying a word of it. _Maybe it's a good thing that we're going to be at the Pokémon Center tonight._

Brendan nodded. "Yeah, come on, we need to get that arm looked at."

The trio made a faster pace to the Pokémon Center, and they went straight to the counter. The Nurse smiled at them. "Hello, welcome to the Lavaridge Pokémon Center and Hot Springs. How may I help you?"

"Well, for starters, all of our Pokémon need to get some healing, we were just battling some really tough opponents on Mt. Chimney," Brendan said. "Specifically, my Gardevoir's arm needs to be looked at."

The Nurse motioned for Gwen to come closer and hold her arm out. Gwen did as instructed. "Hmm..." the nurse said as she examined the arm. "You just evolved, didn't you?" she asked.

 _Y-yes,_ Gwen said.

"And you got this injury before evolving, correct?"

 _Yes,_ Gwen said again.

The Nurse nodded. "It looks like that arm was broken by whatever hit it. That alone would've been no problem, but now the bones have grown drastically when they weren't in-tact." She then looked at Brendan and May. "Well, if you want me to check over your other Pokémon, give them to me now, and I will get started on them. And you, miss Gardevoir, are going to be getting treatment overnight.

 _Oh, okay. I understand,_ Gwen said.

The nurse then turned to Brendan and May. "Since your Pokémon will be here overnight, why don't I get you a room for the night?"

May nodded, "We were actually about to ask you that," she said with a smile. "What rooms are available?"

The Nurse typed for a bit on her computer and the results came up. "Well, as luck would have it, the room with the private spring is available if you want it."

"We'll take it!" May said, almost too enthusiastically. The Nurse raised an eyebrow knowingly as she pulled out the room keys and handed them to Brendan and May.

"You two have a good night," the nurse said as she took Gwen and their Pokéballs into the treatment area.

May then led Brendan to their room. When they got inside, they were amazed at how luxurious it was. There were two queen-sized beds with one television in the center. At the back was a shoji door, which Brendan figured led to the springs.

"Hey, I'm going to go get ready for my bath," May said. "But you should go first."

Brendan looked at her weirdly, but didn't question it. "Alright," he said as she went into the bathroom. There were two towels in the main room, and two wash cloths. Brendan disrobed, leaving everything folded neatly on the room's dresser. He wrapped himself in a towel and stepped outside to where the spring was, closing the door behind him. It was very steamy, but he could make out the edge of the water well enough. He got to the edge and took his towel off, leaving it on the ground while he stepped into the naturally boiling water. The effects were immediate. He was absolutely in heaven now as all his worries just slipped away. He was just about to relax completely when he heard the sound of the shoji opening once and closing once again. He turned around and saw May standing there, only a towel and her necklace on. Her hair was down, and it was reaching to her mid-shoulders. Brendan's eyes were initially drawn to the new mark across her chest from the rope. While it looked painful, Brendan could only notice just how beautiful May was. He was at a loss for words.

"Umm, May, are you doing alright?" Brendan asked. "You've been acting…antsy since before we got here."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" May asked as she neared the spring trying to play innocent.

"I'm uhh, not sure," Brendan said. "Probably because of what happened today."

May smiled as she took her towel off, turning away from Brendan so he didn't see too much too soon. "Um, for now, would you mind turning away?" she asked. Brendan did as she asked. She then walked to the edge of the water, her towel neatly folded as she placed it behind Brendan. She then dipped her feet in and steadily lowered herself into the water next to Brendan, laying her head on his shoulder. Brendan smiled as best he could, considering how nervous he was, as he put his arm around her. May then leaned up and kissed Brendan's cheek. "You know, I will never forget how far you went for me today," she said.

"Honestly, I'm just glad I got there in time," Brendan said, kind of nervously.

"But you did. I mean, hell, we were about to die today, and we would have if it hadn't been for Gwen," May said. "And, you saved my Pokémon first. That really means a lot to me."

Brendan looked her in the eye. "You know, I'm sure you would've done the exact same thing if I had been kidnapped," he said.

"I guess that's why we make such a good couple," May said, her voice fading slightly. She was losing her self-control. "You know, even if we are dating, I still haven't thanked you properly yet, for saving me or for the necklace," she said.

 **\- LEMON SCENE BEGINS -**

Brendan's mind was now racing at a million miles an hour. He had never been in such a situation before, except maybe dreams. "What do you mean by 'thank me'?"

May rolled herself over Brendan so she was now straddling him. "Let me show you," she whispered seductively in his ear as she began to kiss his neck. Brendan, who was still a virgin, was surprised by how good this felt. He was then surprised even further when May gently took his right hand, guiding it to her right breast. "Want to play with them?" she asked in the same seductive whisper. Brendan responded by giving a light squeeze at first, followed by gently caressing her breasts.

Even though Brendan had been dating May for a month now, he hadn't really taken time to examine her assets. She had a near perfect hourglass figure, with perky B-cup breasts, and her butt was beautifully filled out. She was his goddess at the moment, and he wanted worship her as she deserved.

All the while, May was doing the same examination of Brendan. He was quite well built, with a muscular chest and arms. They weren't body builder size, but he clearly worked out. He even had solid six-pack abs. His hands were slightly calloused and strong, probably from his working out, but they were still soft. And, unbeknownst to him at the moment, he was hitting all the right places on her body.

May then sat more upright, and began to kiss Brendan on his lips while she pressed her breasts against his chest. This was her final measurement check. Brendan seemed to be fully aroused at this point, so May got an accurate gauging. It seemed he was slightly above six inches, so it was not too big, but not too small.

"There's one last thing I need you to do," May said as she reached behind him, into her towel.

Brendan looked up at her, eyes full of wonder. "Anything," he said. May smiled as she held up a condom, which was marked as being unaffected by water.

"Put this on," she said. Brendan nodded, continuing to kiss her as he unwrapped his protection. "Actually, on second thought, I'll do it," May said as she took the condom and took hold of his member, putting it on while sneaking a grope in before the main event.

"Are you ready?" May asked as she positioned herself for what was about to happen

Brendan looked her in the eye, and May only saw love from him. "Only if you're absolutely sure about this," he said. That was exactly what May wanted to hear. Without hesitating, she put her weight on Brendan's member, feeling it slowly start to enter her. She gasped from the new sensation, but soon hit a roadblock of sorts. She lifted off just enough to get some more force going down. This time she went all the way down, and there was luckily no blood. She couldn't believe how full she felt down there. It felt like a perfect fit for her.

"Oh my god!" she said breathlessly. "This is amazing!" Brendan could not deny what she just said. The warmth of the hot springs paled in comparison to how tight, warm, and wet May's vagina was. "Okay, I think I've got this," May said as she slowly raised herself up before coming down slowly as well.

This felt even more amazing than before. Her inner walls clenched slightly as she went back up, when she went back down, Brendan moaned lightly before kissing her, and continuing to fondle her breasts. He even began to play with her nipples, which wound up driving her insane. As he did that, she began to steadily pick up the pace and intensity while reaching down and playing with her clit. Brendan noticed, though and slowly took over, whispering "That's my job" into her ear.

"Oh shit!" May said breathlessly as she picked up the pace even more, her mind getting lost in the pleasure. Brendan was already a natural when it came to pleasing her. By now, both May and Brendan could feel a twisting sensation in their gut. They didn't need to have experience to know what that meant.

"May, I'm gonna–"

"Me too, but try and hold off until I do," May said, or at least she started to. She could no longer hold it back. "AHHH!" she cried out with her orgasm.

Brendan, feeling May's inner walls clench on his member so hard and so fast, didn't even have time to say anything as he let loose, his member throbbing with his own orgasm. Brendan looked her in the eyes lovingly, "I love you so much," he said.

"I love you too. I'm so happy you moved to Hoenn," May said breathlessly. May could feel Brendan's member beginning to soften so she slowly got off of him, letting it fall. Brendan then stood up, taking the condom off and taking it over to the trash can inside the shoji. He then made his way back to the spring, but May had already gotten out and was drying off.

"Hey, maybe we can do some more later," May said happily as she walked into the room, slapping Brendan's butt on the way in. "Nice job there."

Brendan grabbed his towel quickly and dried off, following May inside the room, closing the shoji behind him. Tonight would be a great night. They were quickly entangled again on one of the beds, as they went at it again.

 **-End Lemon-**

Back in the Pokémon Center's treatment room, Gwen was in a pod filled with hot spring water as a machine ran healing light over her arm. She didn't understand how it worked, but she could feel it working wonders already.

Then there came a new feeling. Only, it wasn't coming from her. It was coming from…Brendan? When she felt what he was feeling she immediately realized what was happening, and shut that mental link as fast as she could.

 _Oh Arceus, please tell me that's not going to become a regular thing!_ Gwen pleaded.

 **Okay, so, my first time ever writing a lemon, as the opening A/N said.** **Hope you all enjoyed it, even those of you who used it for other purposes. Anyway, as stated before, from now on, this story will be in the M-rated section. So look for the next chapter there.**

 **As always, let me know what you think in the reviews. Be honest, but be polite as well.**

 **Until next time! – jmoul18**


	26. The Heat is Num-ing

_The Heat is Num-ing_

Brendan woke up the next morning, still naked from the night before and lying on his back. May was still cuddling up to him, her breasts pressing against him, and they felt just as nice as they had last night. Then he noticed the slightly cold metal of her necklace on his chest. He smiled to himself. She loved that necklace already, and it seemed that she would not be taking it off any time soon. Brendan was okay with that. He simply wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. That was when May began to wake up.

"Oh, hey, what time is it?" she said groggily. Brendan looked over at the clock briefly.

"About nine in the morning," Brendan said. May groaned a little. "You okay?"

"Yeah," May said. "I'm just a bit sore from last night."

Brendan hugged her closer. "Yeah me too," he said. "I still can't believe what happened to us in the last twenty four hours. I doubt anybody else has been involved with that level of danger in one day."

"Hey, mind if I turn on the television? I want to check the news."

"Not at all, I kind of want to see what's going on in the world," Brendan said as May flipped on the television. The channel was already on a news station from Kanto. It was in Saffron City, and it was focusing on the Indigo League. "Oh hey, this should be interesting," he said.

"It was an amazing battle yesterday as the two trainers from Pallet Town clashed in the final round of the tournament yesterday. From what we've heard these two have been rivals since childhood, and Blue had been the stronger of the two throughout their journey. However, in this battle, Red emerged victorious with his Charizard using Fire Blast to defeat Blue's Blastoise. This now means that Red will receive the opportunity to battle the Elite Four and the Champion to claim the highly sought-after title of Indigo League Champion."

"Well, I forgot that the Indigo League was even happening, much less that it was already over," Brendan said.

"Yeah, but it's amazing that Red was able to beat a Blastoise with a Charizard. That seems like it would be next to impossible," May said.

"Maybe, but at the same time, type advantages aren't everything," Brendan said. "Hell, Clint has beaten Miranda before."

"Yeah, I mean, it wouldn't happen now," May said with a slight wink. "But let's not get into that right now. Instead, I'm going to get into the shower."

Brendan gave her a kiss on her forehead as she got up and walked to the bathroom, not bothering to cover herself. "You are so beautiful," Brendan said. May smiled back.

"Thanks," May said with a sly wink before she went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Brendan just laid back and put his arms behind his head.

 _So, are you and May finally done?_ Gwen said, causing Brendan to bolt upright.

 _Gwen? Where the hell are you?_ Brendan said.

 _I'm in the treatment room, but it seems that I can communicate from much farther away than when I was a Kirlia._

 _Oh, that's pretty cool. How is it working out for you?_

 _Well, you can hear me, can't you? Or are you just coincidentally talking to yourself in a way that fits with my questions?_

 _Hey, don't get sassy with me!_

 _Nope, I will not stop!_ Brendan just sighed, giving up.

 _So, you know what happened last night,_ Brendan said.

 _Only the bare minimum, not like I wanted to know in the first place,_ Gwen said.

 _So, let's agree to never discuss it with each other, or anybody else,_ Brendan said.

 _Right,_ Gwen said. _And please don't tell May that I know._

 _Sure, I don't think she'd want to hear about it,_ Brendan said.

"Hey, the shower is all yours!" May said as she came out of the bathroom, wrapped in her towel.

"Oh, thanks!" Brendan said. He got out of the bed and went to the bathroom for his own shower. May then began to get dressed and prepare.

 _I wonder how last night will affect our relationship,_ May thought. _Will it deepen our bond, or will it break us apart?_

 _Hey, May!_ Gwen said. May leapt out of her skin when she heard Gwen's voice out of nowhere. _Hey, you and Brendan had almost the same reaction to that!_

 _Holy Arceus, don't scare me like that Gwen!_ May said.

 _Sorry, but I can't exactly go and see you and Brendan in person right now. I figured this was the best way to talk._

 _Oh, I think I understand,_ May said as her heart rate returned to normal. _You're still being treated right now and you can't leave._

 _Actually, the other Pokémon and I are almost fully healed, so as soon as you and Brendan are ready, we should be good to go._

Brendan, who apparently decided to speed through his shower, left the bathroom wearing only his pants. May couldn't help but admire his musculature, especially since the lighting was better than it was last night. "Alright, let's get dressed and get the Pokémon!"

 _Make it fast! It's boring here,_ Gwen said.

Brendan chuckled, but he did what his Pokémon said, as did May, who now only had to style her hair and tie her bow. Brendan just donned his shirt and his hat. "Hey Brendan, I need to ask you something important." May said as she finished tying her bow.

"What's up?"

"After last night, what are we? Is that just going to be a one-time thing, or are we still going to be going strong together?"

"May, you should know that's a ridiculous question," Brendan said. "We didn't start this relationship just to stop after things got physical. That's the type of thing that only assholes do."

 _Well, Goldenrod, you sure fit that category!_ Gwen said, teasing her trainer.

"Would you butt out?!" Brendan said. May just started laughing.

"You may need to spend the night in the burn unit after that!" May said through gasps of laughter.

"Oh, don't you two start ganging up on me," Brendan said. "Sometimes I don't know why I put up with Gwen."

 _The feeling is mutual!_ Brendan just sighed and gave up for the second time in less than an hour.

"Anyway, let's get going. I read online that the gym leader here is pretty strong. And that he's famous for using a Typhlosion of all Pokémon," Brendan said.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't get too excited if I were you," May said, knowing that Brendan's information was a bit outdated.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll find out," May said with a smirk as she led the way out of the room. Brendan just shook his head. He loved her, but she and Gwen just loved to get under his skin too easily.

Gwen stretched happily as she left the Pokémon Center, her arm completely healed and feeling better than ever. She was completely ready for this gym battle today. After all, if she could beat Maxie's Mega Camerupt when she was still a Kirlia, how hard could a fire-type gym be? _I can definitely feel a victory today. There's nothing holding us back!_ Gwen said with enthusiasm.

"Well, I like how happy you are about the battle," Brendan said with a smile. "But first, we need to find the gym."

 _I know, but at least I can float there now,_ Gwen said as she began to levitate to accentuate her point. Brendan just rolled his eyes as he and May began to walk in the direction of the Lavaridge gym.

They were just about halfway to the gym, passing by an alleyway when they heard something strange. It sounded like a Pokémon crying out. But they could tell there were no battles being fought. "Gwen, what's going on over there?" May asked.

Gwen's eyes widened in shock as she looked over in the direction the shouts came from. _There's no time to explain. We need to hurry!_ Just like that, Gwen used her power to levitate both Brendan and May as she pulled them into the alley, racing toward the source of the sounds. What they saw caused a mixture of emotions, namely shock, anger, and disgust.

The source of the sound was a Numel, who was crying out from pain. But that wasn't what elicited their response. It was the fact that there was a trainer there, kicking the Pokémon repeatedly. "You useless, piece of crap! You couldn't do anything in that gym battle! I can't believe I wasted my time training you!" he said, delivering one more kick.

"HEY!" Brendan shouted, getting the other trainer's attention. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" When the trainer turned to face them, though, Brendan realized that they knew him.

"You're Tony, from Dewford," May said in disbelief.

"Oh, I remember you. So doll-face, have you been followin' me? Couldn't wait to get a kiss from me huh?" Tony said, forgetting what he had just been doing.

"What the hell is your problem? Why are you attacking that Numel?" Brendan shouted.

Tony just turned to look at the bruised and battered Pokémon before shrugging. "Why does that matter? It's my Pokémon, and he just lost against the gym leader of this town."

That was when Gwen lost all interest in what this guy had to say. She was so angry that she didn't think, she just took hold of him with her psychic power and lifted him into the air. Brendan looked at his Pokémon in slight surprise, but as she walked past him, he saw just how angry she was, so he decided to let her go. _I don't care what your motivation is. I do not want to hear any bullshit excuse, or a shifting of the blame onto your Pokémon for your loss at a gym. If you lost that is YOUR fault._

"What the hell is this?" Tony struggled to say. "Hey, punk, this is your Pokémon, right? Make her stop!"

Brendan, however, looked at Tony with nothing but disdain and disgust. Instead, he walked over to the Numel and knelt down next to the Pokémon. He reached out to try and pet the fire type, but the Pokémon understandably flinched away. "Hey, you're okay," Brendan said in a calming voice. "I promise I won't hurt you." The fire camel looked at Brendan warily, but got a distinct feeling that this human could be trusted. Brendan began to slowly pet him on the neck. "We can take you away from this man if you want that. You don't have to let him hurt you."

"Don't waste your breath. That Pokémon is too stupid to understand a word you sa–" Tony tried to say before Gwen cut him off by increasing the pressure.

 _I don't remember giving you permission to talk. Now, here's what's going to happen. You are going to release that Numel from your ownership. When you do, you will leave this town, and if we ever see you doing anything like this again, I will not hesitate to erase you from existence. Do you understand?_ Gwen said with pure anger in her voice.

Brendan looked at Tony, wanting to see what he said. "Fine, I was done with that useless Pokémon," he said as he had his Numel return to its Pokéball only to send him out again, this time the Pokéball produced a blue light, indicating a permanent release. "Now ge–" Gwen cut him off once again.

 _That's all you're allowed to say,_ Gwen said. Brendan then pulled out one of his Pokéballs.

"Hey, you know, I think you are an amazing Pokémon," Brendan said. "Why don't you come with me, and we can prove to this jerk just how powerful you really are?"

The Numel thought for a moment, remembering how badly Tony had treated him, including how he had been captured before. This human was nothing like his now former trainer. Just by looking at Gwen, he could see how much Brendan loved his Pokémon. He smiled, tapped the Pokéball's activation button, and was captured without a second thought.

"Kid, you're wasting your time, that Pokémon is use–" Tony was once again cut off.

 _Seriously how dense are you?_ Gwen asked. She thought for a moment. _On second thought, don't answer that, we can already tell._ Meanwhile Brendan was using his Pokédex to scan his newest Pokémon. What he saw in the attacks list made his eyes widen in surprise.

"This Numel knows Magnitude, Mud Bomb, Iron Head, Stealth Rock, and Heat Wave, and you still couldn't win at the gym? Man you must suck at being a trainer!" Brendan said. "Gwen, help me out."

 _What are you thinking?_ Gwen asked.

"I need to get this Numel treated at the Pokémon Center. Can you teleport me back there while you and May take this asshole to the police?"

"I'm okay with that," May said. "Besides, something about this guy just tells me he's wanted for other things."

 _Alright, and when we're done with that, it's definitely time to face the gym. Oh, and by the way, you should know that the Numel's name is Jack,_ Gwen said.

Brendan nodded, not questioning how she knew. "Alright, thanks for letting me know." With that, Gwen sent him back to the Pokémon Center, and brought herself and May to the police station. This could turn out to be fun.

Later, after getting Numel treated and Tony arrested for Pokémon abuse and a whole list of other crimes, including date rape, Brendan, May, and Gwen finally reunited at the same alley where they had found Jack. Brendan already had Jack's Pokéball on his belt, right next to Turk's.

"Now, it's time for us to head to the gym and win our next badge," Brendan said, raising his fist in the air.

 _Alright!_ Gwen cheered. The gym, now in sight, was a red and white building that looked like an open-roofed dojo.

"Wow, that's pretty hard to miss. How didn't we see that earlier?" May asked.

"I guess we're just really bad at paying attention to our surroundings," Brendan said in a slightly joking manner as they got to the gym's door. Brendan opened it and held the door for both May and Gwen.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman when you want to be," May said.

"Thanks, I try," Brendan said.

 _Well, that's sad,_ Gwen teased.

"Again, you excel at killing any sort of a moment, don't you?" Brendan said.

 _I like to think of it as a hobby,_ she replied with a smile. May laughed shortly, but she stopped when they got closer to the battlefield.

Brendan, though he had just been burned by his own Pokémon for the umpteenth time, focused himself. Gwen, knowing it was time to get serious, decided to get focused on the battle to come. When they got to the battlefield, however, Brendan got a surprise. He had read that the gym's leader was an older man. The person at the far end of the battlefield was a girl not much older than twenty. She had red hair in a long ponytail that split into multiple parts. She wore a red sports bra under a black cloth that was tied to serve as a shirt with a pair of jeans that had three red stitches on each leg. Her belt was woven and white with a fire design on the end.

"Hello, I'm here for a battle!" Brendan called out.

"Welcome, trainer! I am–" the gym leader started, but she promptly cut herself off. "No, that's not right." She closed her eyes before starting again. "Puny trainer! Are you ready to face… No that's wrong too." Brendan smiled uncomfortably.

"I-is everything alright?" he asked.

The girl shook her head like she was clearing herself out of a daze. "Yeah, I'm sorry about this. See, my grandfather was the previous gym leader, but he recently retired since he felt I was ready to take control."

Brendan nodded. "I see, so how long have you been a gym leader?"

"It's almost a year at this point. And even though I am a bit clumsy with the greetings and gym conduct, I can still battle at the necessary level," she said. Brendan didn't doubt what she said. "Anyway, my name is Flannery. Who are you three?"

"I'm May from Littleroot, and I'm here as a spectator," May said with a wave as she took a seat in the stands. Flannery smiled.

"Alright, I will make sure you enjoy this battle," Flannery said. She then turned back to Brendan and Gwen.

"My name is Brendan, I'm from Littleroot as well, and I'm here to challenge you," he said confidently.

 _And I'm Gwen, I'm with Brendan,_ she said with a confident smile.

Flannery, like so many others, looked shocked when she heard Gwen speaking. "Huh, not too often that I meet a talking Pokémon," she said in an intrigued voice. "But, you're not here to discuss your Pokémon. So, if JAMES would get out here, we could start." She shouted the name, and Brendan heard running footsteps as a young man with hair that almost looked blue entered the ring.

"Sorry ma'am, I didn't realize we had a challenger." He looked very professional, but Brendan didn't need to worry about the referee. "This is a three-on-three battle, during the battle, only the challenger may make substitutions. If the challenger wins, he will be awarded the Heat Badge. Are both trainers ready?" Both Brendan and Flannery nodded. "Then begin the match!"

"Alright, I will start us off with Scarlet!" Flannery called.

Brendan, however, got an idea. "Hey Flannery, you remember a trainer by the name of Tony coming to this gym recently?"

Flannery looked at him. "Twenty years old, complete douche, and horrible at battling? Yeah he was here just today, but he didn't get past my first Pokémon. Why do you ask?"

"Thing is, we found him abusing one of his Pokémon after his battle. We saved the Pokémon, and now he's on my team. Say hello to Jack!" Brendan said as he sent out the fire camel.

Flannery's left eyebrow raised in intrigue when she saw the Pokémon. "Oh, yeah, this one is familiar. He didn't do too well, but I figured it was the trainer's fault."

"You're right. In fact, you're about to see just how badly he screwed up," Brendan said. "Jack, start us off with Stealth Rock!" From his back, Jack launched multiple smaller stones that landed on Flannery's side of the battlefield, facing upright before they vanished.

"Oh, starting off with entry hazards. Impressive strategy," Flannery said. "But not the only one you could've used. Scarlet, use Sunny Day!" The Slugma fired an orb of light into the sky. It got to a point high above the battle and began to shine focused light on the battlefield.

Brendan smiled. "Use Mud Bomb!" he said. From the hole in his back, Jack fired an orb of mud from his back that was bigger than a Mud Shot attack, and it seemed to be moving faster. It seemed that Scarlet would be able to dodge.

"Scarlet, use Overheat to counter!" Flannery said. The Slugma's entire body began to glow red before she fired a jet of white flames at Jack, intercepting the mud attack and baking it into dust.

"Dodge and use Magnitude!" Brendan called. Jack jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the intense flames. He then reared up and struck the ground hard with his foot, sending out a seismic wave, creating cracks in the floor that burst upward until they hit Scarlet. The attack was powerful, probably either a Magnitude level 7 or 8. Though the attack was very effective, Scarlet was not about to lose that easily. Brendan figured that would be the case. Things were never that easy anymore in gym battles.

"Well, nice dodging," Flannery said. "But we are nowhere near finished. Scarlet, use Rock Throw!" Multiple rocks burst from the ground and were thrown at Jack.

"Jack, use Mud Bomb to defend, then Iron Head to attack!" Brendan called. Jack did as he was told, launching another ball of mud at the incoming rocks. It hit the one furthest forward, splashing out to intercept the others. Jack then charged forward, his head glowing brightly as he slammed into Scarlet. This time, the lava slug was defeated.

"Scarlet is unable to continue, Jack wins the round!" James called from the sidelines.

"Alright, great job Jack!" Brendan said. Though Numels aren't known for being very expressive, Brendan could see the look of joy that came over Jack's face just from the praise.

Flannery recalled Scarlet, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Well, that just proved how bad that Tony guy really was. I'm so glad I didn't lose to him. But let's continue this battle, because I am REALLY enjoying this already." Flannery smiled as she took her next Pokéball out. "Let's go Jill!" The Pokémon that came out was actually a surprise to Brendan. He was now looking at another Numel. Just as she touched the ground, multiple stones shot out of the ground, striking her and doing damage.

"Okay, wow. This should be interesting," Brendan said, silently pleased that Stealth Rock had worked.

"I know. Now, Jill, use Lava Plume!" Flannery said. The female Numel, who was slightly smaller in stature than Jack, cried out as lava was launched from her back and flew toward Jack.

"Jack, you use Mud Bomb!" Brendan said. Jack fired another ball of mud from his back, sending it directly at the lava coming at him.

 _I hope he can stop that Lava Plume. Arceus knows how badly that attack can hurt,_ Gwen said. Luckily, Jack's Mud Bomb perfectly countered the incoming lava, although it did crumble to dust after the impact.

"Now, use Magnitude!" both Brendan and Flannery commanded simultaneously. Both of the Numel reared up before stomping the ground hard, sending seismic waves at each other. As chance would have it, though, Jack's attack was weaker than Jill's. While Jack sent a Magnitude level 6, Jill's must have been at level 9 or 10. Jack groaned before collapsing to the ground.

"Jack is no longer able to battle, Jill wins the round!" James said. When Jack started to get up, Brendan ran out to him, noticing that the Pokémon was looking upset. He gave Jack a pet on the neck, comforting him.

"Jack, you did a great job. Now, return and get some rest," Brendan said. The Numel came back to his Pokéball with an expression of relief. Brendan placed the Pokéball back on his belt as he returned to the challenger's box. He then grabbed his next Pokéball. "Sorry about that, now it's time for Turk's second gym battle. COME ON OUT!" he threw the capsule, letting out the Corphish.

"Now a water type; this should be fun," Flannery noted.

 _Yeah, for us maybe,_ Gwen said to Brendan in a snarky tone. Brendan had to keep himself from laughing at her quip.

"Turk, use Aqua Jet!" Brendan said. A sphere of water formed around the Pokémon as he flew at Jill.

"Use Curse!" Flannery called. Jill was surrounded by a strange aura as she was slowed down, but her defense and attack was given a boost. She took the incoming Aqua Jet, but the damage was lessened significantly.

"Fine, we, can still win this with a Bubblebeam!" Brendan said confidently. Turk fired a stream of fast moving bubbles at Jill. Since her speed had been reduced, she had no chance of dodging this attack. She took the full force of the attack, getting thrown backwards until she fell onto her right side.

"Jill is no longer able to battle, Turk wins the round!" James said.

Flannery recalled her Numel with a sigh. "Well, that was quick, but you still have two more of my Pokémon to beat. Now, go Sheldon!" The Pokémon she sent out was a strange tortoise with orange skin and a shell that looked like coal with four holes in it that had a fiery red glow in them. It was a new one to Brendan, so he pulled out his Pokédex. It registered as a Torkoal. They were known for eating coal and producing a lot of smoke when they were in a dangerous situation. They were also known for having a strong defense, but Brendan could already see that just based on the shell. As he landed, however, multiple stones erupted from the ground and struck him repeatedly

"Turk, let's do this! Use Aqua Jet!" Brendan called. Once again, Turk was surrounded by a sphere of water before launching himself into the air as he flew at the Torkoal.

"Iron Defense!" Flannery called. Sheldon withdrew into his shell, which took on a metallic gleam. Turk struck the shell hard, barely doing any damage, relative to what it should have done.

"Great job Sheldon, now use Overheat!" Flannery commanded. Torkoal popped out of his shell, the holes glowing bright red just before he launched a white pillar of flames at Turk from point blank range. The attack was extremely strong, and even though Turk had a resistance to fire-type attacks he was unable to withstand the intense heat. He was thrown back toward Brendan, landing in a heap.

"Turk is unable to continue, Sheldon is the winner!" James said. "Both the Gym Leader and the challenger have one Pokémon left, this round will determine the winner!"

 _Brendan, don't say anything, I'll take this,_ Gwen said as she floated onto the battlefield. _Besides, I want to try something out._

 _What do you mean?_ Brendan asked.

 _Let's battle using only mental communication,_ Gwen said. _That way, they won't know what we're planning._

 _You're devious,_ Brendan said. _I love it!_

"Sheldon, use Take Down!" Flannery said. The Torkoal began to sprint as fast as he could, ready to hit Gwen with all his might.

 _Psychic,_ Brendan said. Gwen's eyes began to glow with a light blue aura, much like it used to when she was a Kirlia. Now Brendan could physically feel how much power was behind it, and it honestly frightened him a little. Gwen's power took hold of Sheldon when he was only a few inches from her. He was stopped in his tracks, while Gwen took her time, slowly lifting him to her eye-level.

 _You lose,_ she said as flicked her wrist slightly, sending the Torkoal flying through the air and crashing into the gym's far wall. The turtle slumped down, making the results clear.

"Sheldon is unable to battle. Gwen wins the round, which means that Brendan wins the match!" James called.

Brendan was silent momentarily before giving a cheer and running out to hug Gwen. "That was amazing!" he said, trying to ignore Gwen's new chest spike digging into his sternum.

Flannery sighed briefly as she had Sheldon return to his Pokéball. She then turned to Brendan and began to walk across the field. "Wow, I guess I still have a lot to learn, don't I?" she said.

"What are you talking about? You were great out there," Brendan said.

"No, I could've done much better, but I was trying to be too much like my grandfather. You helped me to see that I need to be myself during a battle. Otherwise, I won't be able to give a proper test to challengers," Flannery said. "So thank you for showing me that." She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a badge designed like a flame, with an orange and yellow metal piece attached to what looked like a ruby. "You've earn the Heat Badge."

"Thank you Flannery," Brendan said as he took the badge. "Maybe we can have a rematch one day when you feel up to it."

Flannery nodded. "I'd like that. After all, I still have to show you that I'm not a pushover," she said confidently.

That was when May came up behind Brendan and leapt onto his back, wrapping her arms around him in the opposite direction of his backpack strap. "Great battling out there, and nice job getting Jack out there," she said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks. Hopefully I can do it again at my next gym…" Brendan said trailing off.

 _Hey, Goldenrod, you going to finish that sentence?_ Gwen said, waving her hand in front of his face.

"I just remembered, this is my fourth badge," he said.

May looked a little confused. "And, what's wrong about that?"

"When we left for our journey, and after I helped Wally catch Sam, Dad told me he'd only battle me once I got at least four gym badges," Brendan said slightly. May started realizing what Brendan meant. "My next gym battle is against my dad."

That night, in Littleroot Town, Caroline was preparing a cheese, cracker, fruit, and wine platter for when the Birches came over for their weekly get-together. Norman was in the dining room, preparing the poker set for the night. "Hey, Care!" Norman said.

"Yes dear?" she replied, noticing Sylveon coming up and rubbing against her leg.

"When was the last time you heard from Brendan?"

Caroline thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't think he's called even once since he left," she said.

"Other than the time I called him while he was going to Dewford on Mr. Briney's boat, I don't think I've spoken to him since he came by the gym," Norman said. "But he and May were on that new PokeVision show, and May was just in the Fallarbor contest, so they should be fine." Then, almost as if it was waiting for the cue, their video phone rang.

"Norman, could you get that?" Caroline said as she cut up an apricot.

"I'm on it!" Norman went to the screen, showing that it was a call from the Lavaridge Pokémon Center. "Who's calling from Lavaridge?" He said in a confused tone before answering. "Hello, Maple residence."

"Seriously Dad, I know when I'm calling my own family," Brendan said with a slight laugh, getting Norman's full attention.

"Brendan! How have you been? Why haven't you called?" Norman said. "Caroline, get in here, Brendan's calling!" Brendan heard the sound of rushed footsteps as his mother came into view.

"Hi Brendan!" Caroline said with a bright smile. "How have you been?"

"Sorry, we've been so busy recently that we haven't had much time to call," Brendan said.

 _Hi Mr. and Mrs. Maple!_ Gwen said, waving at the screen as she pushed Brendan to the side.

"Oh my, is that Gwen?" Caroline asked. "Last we saw you, you were still a Kirlia when you were on _In Search of Trainers!_

 _Well I evolved!_ Gwen said. _By the way, Brendan has something he wants to tell you!_

"Oh, and what's that?" Norman asked.

"Well Dad, you remember when you said you'd only battle me if I got four gym badges?" Brendan said.

Norman raised his eyebrow. "Yes, I remember," he said, seeing where this was going.

"Well," Brendan said as he got out his badge case, opened it, and showed his four badges to his parents. "Here they are!"

Norman looked at them. "So you beat Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, and that new girl, Flannery. Very nicely done," he said in an impressed tone. "I guess that fulfills your end of the bargain."

"So, when should we be expecting you in Petalburg?" Caroline said.

"Well, May has a contest in Verdanturf in about a week's time, and it will take us about two days to get from there to Petalburg, so we will be there in just over a week," Brendan said. That's when a knock was heard at the Maple's house.

"Oh, that will be Ed and Lily," Caroline said. "Brendan, is May nearby?"

"Yeah, she's right behind me!" Brendan said.

"Good, then get her on so she can talk to her parents too," Caroline said before going to open the door.

Brendan, however, didn't need to get May. She was already pushing him the opposite way that Gwen had just pushed him. Now the two girls were dominating the screen while Brendan was being pushed backwards and away from the screen. That was when both Professor and Lily Birch came into the house, and their faces lit up when they saw May on the screen.

"May! How are you?" Lily asked.

"I'm doing great Mom, and we will be in Petalburg in about a week!" she said with a smile. Both Lily and the Professor lit up.

"That's great news! We can all get out there and see you when you guys get there!" the Professor said.

"Yeah, there should be more of an audience for our battle, don't you agree Brendan?" Norman said, a competitive edge in his voice.

Brendan smiled. "You know, I think that would be a great idea," he said.

"Oh, and another thing," May said. "I'm going to be in the Verdanturf contest, in case you guys want to watch it!"

"Oh don't worry, we've been watching the contests," Lily said. "Your father is actually going a bit crazy for them. And to think that you're learning from Lisia herself is amazing to say the least."

"So you saw the Fallarbor contest," May said, some slight disappointment in her voice.

"Yeah, we did. It was a tough loss, but don't worry about it. We know you'll bounce back and continue winning!" Mrs. Birch said with a confident smile.

"Thanks Mom," May said. "Any way, it's getting late and we have an early start tomorrow if we want to get to Verdanturt in time for the next contest."

"Alright, we can't wait to see you three in person! Good night!" Norman said with a smile. Both sides hung up at that point, and Norman took a deep breath.

Lily looked at him with some mild concern. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just hitting me that in a week I'm going to be battling our son," he said. "I knew the day would come, but here I am, caught completely by surprise when it finally comes."

Lily just smiled as she went to get the platter. "He's growing up a lot faster than you realized, isn't he," she said. Norman just nodded in agreement. After all else could he say?

 **Hey everybody, thank you for reading. I hope you all enjoyed it. A few things I'd like address before you review:**

 **Yes I know Pokémon are only supposed to know four moves in the games, but if you haven't noticed already, I have disregarded that, since it really doesn't make much sense.**

 **I know a lot people have been going for the last chapter, so I feel like I should tell you that there will, at most, be only one other lemon in this story, but that's still up in the air.**

 **Yes, I know Blue was supposed to be the League Champion when Red beats him, but I changed it so the tournament format was consistent in the other leagues. Sue me (refer to the opening A/N in the second chapter of this story to see why that's a bad idea).**

 **Now, as usual, please let me know what you thought in the reviews, please be honest, but keep it constructive. Hope you all are enjoying school!**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	27. Raise Your Voice

_Raise Your Voice_

The next morning, Brendan and May were leaving the Pokémon Center early in the morning, May was feeling chipper today due to the cuts on her arms from being tied down were healing nicely, but she was wearing slightly longer sleeves until they fully healed. Gwen was not exactly happy about how early they were awake, but she didn't complain. She knew that they had important places to be, namely getting to May's contest. And that was exactly the topic of conversation at the moment as they left the town, and were heading toward Route 112. Luckily, Verdanturf was not too hard to get to from Lavaridge.

"So, I have a few ideas of which Pokémon I can use for this contest," May said. "Since this one is supposed to have two different Pokémon, I was thinking to have Miranda in the appeals, and Erza as the battler. After all, she needs to make her official debut in contests."

"Sounds like a solid plan," Brendan said. "Still, she's got to be close to evolving."

"That's also true for Turk, and based on how Jack battled at the gym yesterday, him too," May said.

"Yeah, that's true. I just wish there was a way to easily get them to evolve," Brendan said.

"We could go into the grass and relentlessly beat the other Pokémon living there until ours evolve," May said. Brendan looked at her with a worried expression.

"Please tell me that's a joke," he said.

May tried to keep a serious expression, but she just couldn't maintain it as she broke out in laughter. "Of course I'm joking. What kind of trainer would ever do that?"

"I don't know. Team Rocket maybe," Brendan said with a shrug, laughing at May's joke. "But you know, you have a dark sense of humor."

"Yeah, but any other type of humor can get boring," May said.

 _Back on the subject of what we are going to do on our way back to Verdanturf,_ Gwen said. _After all, I still know Teleport. I could easily get us back to Mauville and then we can shorten the distance by a lot._

"Hey, that actually sounds like a good idea," May said. "Why don't we try it?"

Brendan thought for a moment. "Sure, it will take us half the day or more to get to there on foot, and Gwen can't exactly ride on my shoulders if we were to ride bikes," he said.

 _Yeah, so you need to get me my own bike while we're in Mauville!_ Gwen said.

"Maybe, but who knows if Rydel will still be okay with getting us another bike," Brendan said. "Anyway, Gwen, you ready to teleport us there?"

 _No sweat!_ Gwen said as she put her hands on a shoulder of both Brendan and May, closed her eyes and in an instant, all three of them suddenly appeared in the center of Mauville City, right beside the replica of Prism Tower.

"Wow, that was fast," Brendan said.

 _Yeah, instantaneous teleportation tends to be fast,_ Gwen said, using as much sass as she could muster.

"Alright, let's go see if Rydel will get you a bike," May said.

"So, you've seen both types of bikes, which one are you going to get?" Brendan asked.

 _Well obviously the Mach Bike since May won the race_ , Gwen said.

May smiled to gloat in Brendan's direction. Brendan just shook his head. "Yeah, I should've figured."

"Well, let's go, we won't get any bikes standing around here," May said, turning toward the bike shop. They walked for about ten minutes before they got there, and it was almost overflowing with people.

 _Woah, what happened to this place? Is he giving more bikes away?_ Gwen said in a surprised tone.

"We might as well check it out," May said as she walked into the shop. When they entered the building, they almost couldn't get inside the shop.

"Wow, what the Distortion World is actually going on?" Brendan said.

That was when the owner came up to them. "Well, if it isn't the two advertisers who made this shop into a regional hot spot in less than a week," Rydel said with a proud grin.

"Wait, you mean that we helped this happen?" May said in shock.

"Yes, didn't you see your episode of _In Search of Trainers_?" he asked. "The opening shot was of you two racing on my bikes. The sales went through the roof after that. Although we did get some angry Pokémon rights activists protesting, saying that I gave you your Kirlia as a helmet."

 _That must be why nobody likes them,_ Gwen said. _That claim is just the definition of idiocy_.

"Disregarding their ridiculous claims, I owe you guys more than I gave you with those bikes," he said.

"Well, actually, we're here to get Gwen a bike," Brendan said.

"Certainly," Rydel said. "Now, Gwen were you thinking Acro or Mach Bi–"

 _Mach Bike!_ she said happily.

"Alright, give me a moment!" Rydel said as he went toward the computer, working his way through the crowd, and typed a command. A new bike came out in no time. He then walked back to Gwen, a smile on his face. "Here you are: your very own Mach Bike, and the seat and pedals have been adjusted to better fit a Gardevoir."

 _Thanks,_ Gwen said as she took it in her hand. Then her expression turned a bit disappointed.

"What's wrong?" Brendan asked.

 _I just remembered that I don't know how to ride a bike,_ she said with a hint of disappointment and some frustration as she held it up at her eye level.

"Oh that? That's no problem," Brendan said, waving it off. "Hell, I'll teach you how to ride."

Gwen's expression visibly brightened. _You will?_ she asked with a smile.

"Absolutely," Brendan said.

"I'll help too," May said. "Come on, let's go out to the center courtyard and get you on that bike."

It wasn't even five minutes later that they were back at the courtyard. Gwen had just put the bike on the ground and pressed the button, opening it. Brendan had his bike out as well.

"Alright, so getting on is pretty simple," Brendan said. "Just follow my lead." He put the kickstand up tilted it toward himself and swung his leg over the bar, getting ready to ride.

 _Looks simple enough,_ Gwen said, copying her trainer's movements easily. _Great, now what's next?_

"This part is going to feel weird for you when you start. First you need to put one foot onto a pedal," Brendan said. "Then just follow my lead again." He pushed off the ground and began to pedal, starting to ride slowly, staying close to Gwen and May. "It's strange at first, but you'll get used to it."

 _Alright,_ Gwen said with a bit of nervousness. _Let's do this_. She started to pedal, following Brendan's example, she was slow and a bit unsteady at first, and she noticed that a few people nearby were taking videos of her, but she was able to stay up.

"That's it, just keep pedaling, and practice turns, you'll be riding perfectly in no time," Brendan said with a smile.

 _May, come on, join us!_ Gwen said.

"Well I don't want to be left out of the fun," she said as she had her bike unfold and she mounted it. It took her a second to get moving with Brendan and Gwen, but she was soon riding right next to them as they rode around the courtyard, laughing with glee.

 _This is so much fun!_ Gwen said with a beautiful smile.

"Well, if you're ready, we can start to ride toward Verdanturf," Brendan said.

"Let's do it!" May said as she turned toward the western gate and began to ride toward their next destination. Gwen, still a little unsteady, followed slowly, and Brendan tried to stay with her. The three of them got out of the city and onto route 117 without any trouble. They passed by the Day Care, waving to George as they went by. The old man's eyes went a little wider as he saw them pass, probably because he was seeing a Pokémon ride a bike.

 _I'm so happy I evolved!_ Gwen said, telekinetically gripping the handlebars and guide the bike while she held her arms out to the side, enjoying the wind in her hair.

"It really is a lot of fun," May said, not taking her hands off her handlebars, but she still closed her eyes and let the breeze roll over her. Brendan just smiled. His hat kept him from feeling the wind, but he was still having a good time as he rode. They continued to ride for about an hour until Verdanturf came into view as they crested a small hill.

"Wow, it looks so peaceful," May said. "And you can see the stadium for the contest from here.

Brendan, however, wasn't focusing on that. "Hey, guys, do either of you get the feeling that we're being watched?" he asked.

"That's a bit random, but no I don't" May said.

 _Me neither,_ Gwen said.

"Oh, maybe I'm just going crazy," Brendan said as he looked back to the route. While looking at the trees to the south, he could've sworn he saw a slight air distortion, followed by a momentary flash of red and white, but he disregarded it. His eyes had to have been playing tricks on him.

 _Oh, don't worry, you being crazy is nothing new,_ Gwen said as she kept riding, going down the hill.

"Hey, Gwen, be sure you use your brakes as you go downhill," Brendan said. "If you go too fast, you'll lose control."

 _Thanks for the tip,_ Gwen said, actually following what Brendan told her. They rode into the town, heading for the Pokémon Center. _Hey, let's book a room then get some training in!_

"Good idea," Brendan said, taking the lead and going to the Pokémon Center. "Now, Gwen, what you want to do now is stop pedaling, ease on the brakes, then get one foot off the pedals. When you start to come to a stop start to extend your leg, and then follow my lead."

Gwen watched and followed exactly as Brendan did. It was actually easy for her. Brendan was impressed at how easily she was learning. May came up behind them, easily dismounting and smiling. "So, seems like you were having a good time," she said with a bright smile.

 _We are riding everywhere from now on!_ Gwen said. Brendan couldn't have agreed more.

"Alright Gwen, use Disarming Voice!" Brendan said. They had been training on the battlefield outside the Pokémon Center for a while now, but they didn't seem to be getting anywhere too fast at the moment. Brendan had already gotten training sessions in with Clint, Turk, Jack, and Nikki. It was now Gwen's turn. Right now, they were working on balancing the speed and power of her attacks. While she was doing well and moving at a very good pace, Brendan felt that her Disarming Voice just wasn't cutting it in terms of power, and Gwen was starting to agree.

With a high pitched shriek, one of the rocks that Brendan had Nikki set up with Rock Tomb cracked before it shattered. _Damn, still not enough,_ Gwen said.

"I know. I think that you may need a new attack, something stronger than Disarming Voice," Brendan said. He didn't realize, however, that they were currently being watched.

"Hey, that isn't too bad!" said a new voice. When Brendan turned around to see who was talking, he was surprised to see a woman who looked like she was only about a year older than Brendan. She wore an eccentric, all-white coat, with a back that looked almost like fairy wings. Her hair was short, and pulled back into a bun that sort of looked like a multi-pointed crown when looking at her from the front. She had nice high-heeled shoes with ankle-high cuffs and she carried a pink purse. All of her clothing looked like it was designed specifically for her. And around her neck was a pendant that looked like a side-view of a Gardevoir's head that held a keystone in the center.

"Umm…Thanks, my name's Brendan by the way," he said, extending his hand before he recognized this woman. "No way, aren't you Diantha?" he asked.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting somebody to know me already," she said. "So you've seen one of my movies?"

"Yeah, you were incredible in _The Temple of Houndoom_ ," Brendan said. "And you're the top ranked Elite Four member in Kalos, aren't you? The only one in your region stronger than you is the Champion."

"Well thank you," Diantha said as she smiled at the compliment. "And to answer your question, yes, I am in the Kalos Elite Four. Anyway, that's not important. I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying about teaching your Gardevoir a new attack. I think I can help you with that."

"Wait, really?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah, I'm off for the rest of the day for the scene I was shooting for my newest movie," she said. "So I have more than enough time to at least get you two started with your training."

That was when May came outside to start practicing her newly planned routine. As she approached the battlefield, she noticed Brendan and Gwen standing and talking to a girl. The girl was really pretty and she was wearing nothing but the nicest designer clothes. She was a bit worried when she saw that, but then Brendan waved her over almost excitedly. May just shook her head. What was she getting jealous for? Brendan was probably just having a friendly conversation, especially since they were in public and they were clearly not having that kind of conversation. That was when May saw the face of the woman Brendan was talking to, and her eyes went wide with surprise. How was Brendan talking to that girl, of all people?

"Hey, May, this is Diantha," Brendan said. "She's–"

"An actress and a Kalos League Elite Four member," May said. "I know, and I'm a big fan of your work."

"Wow, I was not expecting to see two people who knew my work as an actress. I've only been in three movies," Diantha said.

 _Only?_ Gwen asked in a disbelieving tone. What surprised Brendan now was that Diantha didn't jump or look surprised when she heard Gwen talking. Actually, she smiled politely.

"Oh, I completely forgot my manners, and I forgot to introduce you to my own friend," Diantha said as she pulled out a Pokéball. "Come on out Jennifer!" Brendan was surprised about what Pokémon came out.

"You're a Gardevoir trainer too?" Brendan asked, noticing that Gwen was just as surprised to see another of her species. They looked almost identical in terms of body build, but there were two major differences. One came from the fact that Jennifer had a pendant similar to the one Diantha had around her neck, except the stone in the center was a light blue, almost white, with a green and pink swirl pattern through the center, and the surrounding pendant looked like Diantha's bun. The second difference came from the fact that Jennifer's dress was slightly pinker than Gwen's; she had blue hair, and an orange chest spike.

"Yep, she was the first Pokémon I ever caught and we have been friends ever since," Diantha said.

"Voir!" Jennifer said in greeting, apparently not able to speak like Gwen could.

 _I'm really happy to meet you too Jennifer! I'm Gwen!_ she said with a smile.

Jennifer smiled back, giving a wave. "Now, let's get started with teaching Gwen how to use Hyper Voice!" Diantha said. Jennifer nodded and took a position facing the rocks that Brendan and Gwen had been using for practice earlier. "Let's begin with a demonstration." Jennifer took a deep breath, before she began to shriek louder than anything Brendan had ever heard before. The resulting soundwave was massive. It struck the boulder, causing it to break into dust almost instantly.

"Woah," Brendan said. "How did you just do that?"

"The technique is very similar to Disarming Voice," Diantha said. "For a Gardevoir to perform this technique, it's a matter of using your psychic abilities to increase how loud your voice can get. You won't get it right away, because your vocal cords will need time and practice to strengthen and get used to producing such high decibels."

 _Well, I'll try it,_ Gwen said as she stepped up next to Jennifer. She took a deep breath, focusing her psychic power on her vocal cords, increasing their strength as much as she could. Then, she used the same method as Disarming Voice, shrieking loudly, but there was much more power behind it. The soundwave was much larger than anything she'd produced with Disarming Voice, but she could already tell it wasn't on the same level as Jennifer's attack. The wave hit another one of the boulders, destroying it, but instead of dust, it broke into rocks the size of hands.

Diantha started to applaud. "That was really well done for your first try. To be honest, it was even stronger than what Jennifer did on her first attempt," Diantha said.

"Gar?!" Jennifer asked, looking slightly offended.

"Sorry Jen, it's the truth. We'd better be careful or these two may eventually be stronger than us," Diantha said.

"Well, regardless, thank you so much for helping us here," Brendan said as he extended his hand to the actress.

"Oh, you are quite welcome," Diantha said as she shook Brendan's hand. "Oh, and the next time we cross paths, we will definitely have to battle each other to see who is stronger."

 _You're on,_ Gwen said as she also shook Jennifer's hand. There was some electricity in the air between the two Gardevoir and their trainers, but it was the kind that spurred a rivalry.

"Now Gwen, you and Brendan keep working on that Hyper Voice, and I know you'll master it in no time!" Diantha said. "It was nice meeting all three of you. Now, I must be getting back to my hotel, otherwise my manager will freak out."

As she left, Brendan turned to May with a confident smile on his face. "How cool was that? We got a personal lesson from a member of another region's Elite Four!"

"And the one who just happens to be the most famous of all of them. Yeah, you are way too lucky," May said.

"Well, I'm also dating you, so I guess that's true," Brendan said as he pulled May in for a kiss.

"Are you always that smooth or is it just random?" May asked once they broke off their kiss.

"You'll just have to stick around and find out."

 _Alright lovebirds, don't make me turn my imperfect Hyper Voice on you,_ Gwen said. The two trainers just laughed lightly to themselves as they returned to training. After all, the contest was only a couple days away.

 **I'll keep this one brief. Thank you for reading. As always, please leave a review to let me know what you honestly thought, and where you think I can improve. Next chapter is the Verdanturf contest.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	28. Celebrity Status

_Celebrity Status_

"Welcome one and all to this year's Verdanturf Contest!" Vivian said, getting a round of applause. "For those of you who don't know, I am your host, Vivian Meridian! And now for our judges!"

 _Is she always so energetic?_ Gwen asked, sitting in her own seat now.

"It seems like it," Brendan said. "By the way, is Lisia here? She's usually out here talking to us by now."

 _I think I sense her back stage in the waiting room, talking to May._

"Got it, she's giving May a pre-contest pep talk," Brendan said.

Backstage, Lisia was standing next to May, waiting in the tunnel since May was the first act of the appeals round. "So, I didn't get a chance to see you or Brendan before the contest began," Lisia said. "Want to tell me what happened after Fallarbor? I mean, you two pretty much vanished overnight. And you're also wearing a really nice necklace that you didn't have when we last saw each other."

"Liz, I'd love to tell you all about it, but can it wait until after the contest?" May said. "It's a bit of a tough topic to talk about."

Lisia looked at May with a questioning expression. "I guess I can just get it from Brendan and Gwen while we watch the contest."

May nodded. "Alright, they'll probably be the better ones to ask."

"Now ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our first performance of the appeals round. Please welcome May!" Vivian said.

"Good Luck!" Lisia said as May walked onto stage in her now typical contest attire.

May waved to the crowd, smiling at Brendan and Gwen, who were in the center row of the auditorium.

"Miranda, take the stage!" May called out as she sent out her first Pokémon, the Combusken chirping and doing a flip as she came out of her Pokéball. "Now, kick up some rocks!" Miranda stomped the ground, grabbing ten large rocks with her talons and tossing them up into the air. "Now, use Fire Spin!" Miranda unleashed a brief tornado of flames, causing the rocks to ignite as well. "And now use Double Kick on those rocks!" Miranda leapt into the air, effortlessly kicking each of the flaming rocks, causing them to break apart into red-hot dust and gravel that rained down onto the stage. "Now, use Quick Attack!" Miranda began to run quickly, a streak of white forming as she ran in a tight circle. Her speed caused a wind to pick up, catching all the dust in the air, causing it to form a cyclone once again. This one was more see-through, and it soon began to sparkle like glass. "That's good, now back to me!" Miranda jumped and deftly back-flipped to May's side, letting the glass dust fall to the ground beautifully. May and Miranda both curtsied to the crowd just before there was an eruption of cheering and joyful applause.

 _Great job you two!_ Gwen said to both May and Miranda. May smiled at the crowd before looking at the score board. 29, it wasn't bad. Not her usual perfect score, but that was fine. She would likely still be in the battle round. She left the stage and went to the waiting room, noticing that Lisia wasn't there. Oh well, she must have been already on her way to sit with Brendan.

As May thought, Lisia was still looking for Brendan in the crowd, but she was having trouble spotting him, even with that white hat of his. She had stopped to watch May's act, but now she couldn't find Brendan. That was when she saw a strangely familiar Gardevoir. Brendan was on the far side of Gwen, so Lisia couldn't see him, but just by seeing Gwen sitting there, she realized who she was looking at. "No way, Gwen? Is that you?"

Gwen smiled, as did Brendan, who had taken off his hat to see if Lisia would recognize them in the crowd. _Well, took you long enough to find us,_ Gwen said.

"When did you evolve?!" Lisia said as she sat in the seat that they had saved for her.

 _That is a story and a half,_ Gwen said. _Brendan, you want me to tell it, or should I?_

"Why don't you tell it and I fill in any details left out," Brendan said.

 _Oh, I won't leave any details out,_ Gwen said. _Lisia, close your eyes and I will make sure you know what's happened since the last time we saw you. It'll be as much detail as you'll need._

Lisia was a bit confused, but she did as Gwen said. Gwen then reached over and tapped her on the head. That was when Lisia was suddenly watching all the events since the Fallarbor Contest through Gwen's eyes. However, Gwen did intentionally leave out Brendan and May's promiscuous night. When Gwen finished the show, Lisia was almost in tears over the ending on Mt. Chimney.

"By Arceus," Lisia said. "Brendan, you and May are lucky to be alive. No wonder she didn't want to talk about it before she performed."

"Yeah, it wasn't a good experience," Brendan said. "The 'falling into a volcano' part was especially bad."

"But you still made a bad joke about it," Lisia said with a laugh.

"I had to ease the tension somehow before giving her the necklace," Brendan said.

"Well, you are really a romantic guy," Lisia said. "I just wish I could find a guy like you some day."

Brendan looked at her in surprise. "You don't have a boyfriend?"

"I know, surprising," Lisia said with a look that said she'd discussed these things with others. "But with my busy schedule, I just haven't had time to date anybody."

 _Well, do you have anybody in mind?_ Gwen asked, her left eyebrow raised with an intrigued look.

"Erhm," Lisia said, "Hey look, Chaz is on, let's watch and see if he fucks this up!"

Brendan knew she was dodging, so he let it go, deciding that it wasn't his business, and watched Macherie create fireworks with a combination of Focus Blast, Flamethrower, and Thunder Punch. They were strange attacks for a Machoke, but they seemed to work well as an appeal, earning a 27.

"Well, that was an interesting appeal. Strangely flashy, but not bad. He will probably be in the second round," Lisia commented.

"Probably, but without Grace here we can't really expect much else from the competition," Brendan said.

"That's true," Lisia said as the next coordinator began to perform, using a Sableye to great effect. She had the Pokémon using Shadow Sneak along with Shadow Ball, and Feint Attack. It turned out well, displaying the creepy nature of the species. The performance earned a 27 as well. The rest of the performances were average at best. At one point, Brendan could've sworn that Gwen was starting to nod off. Luckily, the performances didn't last much longer, and the judges were soon making their rulings on the four who went on.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, on screen now are the four who will appear in the battle round!" As Brendan guessed, both Chaz and May were on screen, as well as the Sableye trainer, and one coordinator from Johto who used an Ariados. May was against the Sableye trainer while Chaz was facing the Ariados trainer. "We will begin the battle round in five minutes!"

15 minutes later:

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the final match-up between May and Chaz. Like last round, there is five minutes on the clock, and each coordinator starts with 100 points. The one who loses the most points by the end of five minutes, or the one who runs out of points first will lose the match. If either Pokémon is declared unable to battle by all three judges, regardless of points, that coordinator will lose the match. Now, if all are ready, we will begin," May pulled out Erza's Pokéball, and Chaz pulled out the Pokémon he had used in the second round. "Erza, take the stage!" May called out as she let out the oddly colored Aron. The Pokémon's red eyes looked fierce and ready to battle.

"Corey, come on out!" Chaz said. His Pokémon of choice was a Pikachu, of all Pokémon.

"Erza, let's keep this brief, use Mud Slap!" May said. Erza simply kicked a clump of mud from the battlefield at Corey, getting it in the mouse's eyes.

"Corey, use Shock Wave!" Chaz called out. An orb of electricity surrounded the electric mouse as he fired a massive wave of electricity that filled the entire battlefield.

"Block that with Rock Tomb!" May called, checking the scoreboard. She was at a perfect 100 while Chaz had already dropped to an 80, and they were dropping once again as Corey's attack harmlessly passed by Erza as it went around the rock she had brought out of the ground. "Now, use Iron Head!" Erza's head began to gleam like polished metal as she ran through the solid rock and began to run head-on into Corey, who could barely see due to the Mud Slap from earlier. That wasn't helped by the fact that while Erza's head was glowing, so too was the rest of her body. While she was running, her form grew to the size of a row boat, with both the height and length. She grew a small tail, and her armor plating split into segments for mobility. Her head also got larger, and more pointed. Her mouth even became visible from the front.

"Of course," Lisia said quietly, doing a brief face-palm. "May is getting to that point where almost all of her Pokémon will be evolving." When the glowing ceased, Erza plowed into Corey. The little mouse had been expecting a shorter, much lighter hit, almost like a Miltank head-butting a farmer. Instead he was hit by the force of a truck going sixty. Before he even hit the ground, the judges had all declared a knock out. May looked at the clock, seeing that only a minute and a half had passed. She couldn't help but break out into a smile as she ran out onto the battlefield, hugging Erza around the neck.

"You were amazing out there Erza!" she said. Erza gave a happy grunt, pushing forward to nuzzle May, but she went a little too hard and knocked her trainer onto her back. May just laughed and continued petting the steel type.

"It looks like this final match has been decided in almost record time! May has gotten back up from her loss in Fallarbor!" Vivian said with enthusiasm. The ribbon ceremony was short, May receiving a green ribbon with vertical white stripes. She put it into her ribbon case, next to the one from Slateport. She now had three ribbons. Two more were left before she was in the Grand Festival.

The next day, Brendan, May, and Gwen were all departing Verdanturf to the west, hoping to use the recently cleared Rusturf Tunnel. Just as they got to the entrance, May stopped abruptly. She was getting the subtle feeling that she was being watched. She turned around, not saying anything to Brendan or Gwen. _Must be my imagination,_ she thought until she saw a light distortion in the air to the southeast. She squinted at it, thinking she saw a flash of blue and grey, but after she closed her eyes and shook her head, the distortion was completely gone. She must have been seeing things. She just took a deep breath before turning back to the tunnel entrance, noticing the Brendan and Gwen had turned toward her, a questioning look in their eyes.

"It's nothing," May said as she caught up. Brendan nodded, deciding not to ask if May didn't want to discuss it. "Come on, let's get to Petalburg. Don't want to keep your dad waiting much longer.

 _Right, I want to see why so many people around Hoenn talk so highly about that man,_ Gwen said.

"Trust me; it's not just here that he's highly regarded. He was also very well known in Johto as one of the three strongest Gym Leaders," Brendan said. "But he never let me watch a single one of his battles. I guess he didn't want me to formulate any strategies against him before I faced him officially."

"Wow, that's strict but I guess it makes sense," May said. That was when she realized that they were just passing an important spot. "Hey, Brendan, Gwen, you remember what happened here?"

 _Like it was yesterday,_ Gwen said, remembering the encounter with Team Aqua that had been the catalyst of her first evolution. _Back then, we had absolutely no clue what we were in for on this journey_.

"We still have no clue what else we're in for," Brendan said almost matter-of-factly.

The next week was marked with a few easy rematch battles, including the pair of stuck-up brats who had tried to steal Gwen on route 104. They tried to challenge May and Brendan again, but the battle that followed could not have been rightly called a challenge. The kids hadn't trained at all since their last battle. So Brendan battled them alone, giving Gwen targets for practicing Hyper Voice, so there was at least some benefit from the battle. It only took the one attack before Brendan and May were back on their way, Gwen finishing her taunting and gloating before she caught up to them.

When they got into Petalburg, however, Brendan's eyes nearly popped out of his head. What he saw was…disturbing. There were merchant stands that had been set up around the city, and they were all selling similar merchandise: items with his dad's face on them. Brendan approached one of the stands which seemed to be less busy, while May and Gwen stayed back. "Excuse me, sir!" he said to the man sitting behind the counter. The man looked up groggily, but when he saw Brendan his eyes went wider.

"EVERYBODY, NORMAN'S SON IS HERE!" he called out, catching the attention of every person in a half mile radius. At the very least, Brendan had to admit that the man had an impressive set of lungs. Then Brendan suddenly found himself surrounded by random people, all shouting things that he couldn't understand.

 _Gwen, a little help, get me out of this crowd,_ Brendan pleaded.

 _One moment,_ Gwen said. As soon as she said that, Brendan was beside her and May, finally breathing normally.

"Hey, where'd he go," somebody said.

"Hey, he's over there, and Gwen's with him!" said a fat woman.

"Oh shit," Brendan said, just before he was swamped with more people.

"Brendan, why are you back in Petalburg?" one man, who probably had halitosis, asked as he got very close.

"Well, it wasn't to be swarmed by people I don't even know," Brendan said. "If you need to know, I'm here to challenge Norman." That caused a hushed silence to come over the crowd, before a roar of what seemed like outrage began.

"HOW DARE YOU! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR YOUR FATHER?" came one angry shout.

"YOU HAVEN'T EARNED THE RIGHT TO CHALLENGE NORMAN!" said another.

 _Gwen, can you get us to the Gym from here?_ Brendan asked, realizing just how insane these people were.

 _Already on it,_ Gwen said as she, Brendan, and May all appeared at the entrance to the Petalburg Gym. _Now, let's get inside before those idiots figure out where we are._

Brendan agreed as he opened the door to the gym, letting May and Gwen in first before he went in himself. "Oh thank Arceus, I thought they were gonna throttle me!" he said before turning toward the gym's battlefield, seeing nobody on the other side. "Huh, I wonder where Dad is." May looked around as well. As usual, the gym was almost empty, except for the one person at the far side of the battlefield.

"Well, I was wondering when you three would get here," Norman said with a smile as he crossed the field and hugged Brendan. "Good to see you again."

"Thanks Dad," Brendan said. "What was with those obsessed fans outside?"

Norman covered his face with both hands. "Oh, those idiots. They've done nothing but sell illegal merchandise and obsess over me as a gym leader," he said.

"And the league does nothing?" May asked.

"They've been trying but the crazed fans just keep showing up," Norman said before shaking his head. "Any way, why don't we all head home to Littleroot for the night? I'm sure a home cooked meal will be better than what you've been eating on the road and at the Pokémon Center."

 _That sounds amazing!_ Gwen said.

"Yeah, I see nothing wrong with that," May said.

"Great, then we all come back here tomorrow for our battle," Brendan agreed.

"Alright, perfect. Come on, the garage is in this direction!" Norman said as he locked the front door to the gym. He then led the way to the car that Brendan hadn't seen since Norman took it from Goldenrod during their move to Hoenn. It was a black Zebstrika four-door sports car. Norman unlocked it and Brendan opened the back door for May and Gwen before getting into the passenger side seat. Norman got into the driver's side and opened the garage. He started the car and sped off down the road toward Littleroot Town. The drive only took about five minutes total, and that was with traffic.

When they arrived in Littleroot, Norman pulled up to May's house. "Here you are May, we will see you tomorrow," he said. May smiled.

"Thanks for the ride Mr. Maple!" she said as she left the car, walking to her front door. Once she was inside, Norman drove for only a few seconds more to get home.

"Well, it's about time you spent your third night in this house," Norman said as he pulled into the house's garage.

Brendan, Norman, and Gwen all got out of the car got into the house. "Hey, Caroline!" Norman said. "I have a surprise here for you!"

Before Caroline could take a guess, Sylveon leapt off the couch and ran over to greet Brendan with a level of enthusiasm that she never showed for Norman. "Aw, hey Syl. I missed you too!" That was when Gwen knelt down to greet Sylveon.

 _Hey, remember me?_ Gwen asked with a smile. Sylveon got a strange look as she cocked her head to the side. _Yes, I'm that Ralts that left with Brendan a few months ago_.

Brendan smiled as he straightened up, only to almost be tackled in a strong hug by his mother. "Welcome home sweetheart," she said, clearly trying to hold back tears of joy.

"It's good to be home," Brendan said, returning the hug. It really was good to be home after such a long time.

 **Hey everybody thanks for reading once again. Now, some things I get the feeling that I will get questions over, I'll just answer them now:**

" **Zebstrika" car is supposed to be the Pokémon version of a Mustang.**

 **Yes, I was kind of inspired by the anime's episode that showed the crazed fans of Norman practically taking over Petalburg.**

 **Yes, I did intentionally make the contest shorter, deal with it.**

 **Anyway, aside from those questions that I just answered, please leave an honest review of what you thought, and where I can improve. Just keep the criticism constructive.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	29. The Battle for the Torch

_The Battle for the Torch_

That night was agonizingly slow for Brendan. He was just too nervous to sleep. The day that he had been looking forward to was upon him; the day that he could finally step out from Norman's shadow and make a name for himself as a Pokémon trainer. He knew he could do it too; it was just the prospect of actually doing it that worried him.

 _Brendan, if you don't relax and go to sleep, I'm going to hit you,_ Gwen said jokingly, still half asleep on the air mattress beside Brendan's bed.

"Sorry, I forgot that you can read my emotions now that you're a Gardevoir," Brendan said.

 _Sometimes, I forget it too, then a night like this rolls around_ , Gwen said. _Want to talk?_

"Yeah, maybe that will help me relax," Brendan said.

 _I can already tell that you're really nervous_ , Gwen said.

"Yeah, it's just because of the battle tomorrow. I remember that when I was a kid, everybody knew me as Norman's son, or the son of the Gym Leader. It was never that I was near the top of my class in terms of grades and in battling. As much as I love Dad, ever since I was in middle school, I've had two major goals. The first, as you know, is to become the Champion," he said.

 _Yeah, I remember, it was our first conversation, and it happened in this room,_ Gwen said thoughtfully.

"Well, I didn't tell you my other goal," Brendan said. "In fact, I don't think I've ever really discussed this with anybody. I want to surpass my father, and instead of just being Norman's son, I'd be known for my accomplishments."

 _Sounds a bit personal,_ Gwen said.

"Maybe it is, but it's not as personal as beating Team Magma was," Brendan said.

 _So more like wanting to have the torch passed to you, so to speak. You want to be the member of the Maple family everybody talks about,_ Gwen said.

"Exactly," Brendan said.

 _Well, I get the strong feeling that we're going to win…today,_ Gwen said. _Now, relax and go back to sleep._

"Alright," Brendan said as he closed his eyes. Gwen was already back asleep within seconds, and Brendan soon realized that he could just subtly sense how relaxed she was. He just smiled to himself as he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Brendan and Gwen were on the challenger's side of the battlefield of the Petalburg Gym, and Norman was on the leader's side. Caroline, Sylveon, May, Professor Birch, and Lily Birch were all watching from the stands, and they were joined by a few other trainers who had decided to study at Norman's gym after losing to him. There was also a news crew in the stands with a camera focused on the battle, probably hoping to capture the battle between father and son. "So, Brendan, I hope you're ready for this, because regardless of your answer, I will not hold anything back," Norman said.

"Trust me, Dad, I know," Brendan said. "And I'm ready."

"Alright, well, I suggest that we have an all-out battle," Norman said. "So we both use all the Pokémon we have for this battle."

"And it all comes down to the last one standing," Brendan worked out easily.

"Exactly," Norman said. "And now it's time for the unveiling of Petalburg Gym's newest piece of equipment, as a gift from Wattson of the Mauville gym." Brendan figured out what he meant when Norman pulled a remote from his pocket and pressed a button, opening a section of wall, revealing a large screen.

"Oh yes, I remember this thing," Brendan said. "It tracks the health of the Pokémon currently on the field."

"Right, to be honest, I don't really know how accurate the thing is, but it hasn't been wrong yet," Norman said. "But that isn't why we're here. We're here to see whether you're worthy of a Balance Badge."

"Then let's get started," Brendan said with enthusiasm.

Norman smiled. "That's my boy," he said quietly. Then he took on a serious look. "Let's begin. Go, Remi!" The Pokémon that came out looked like a strange three-foot tall teddy bear. It had swirls for eyes and it had cream-colored fur with red patches all over, one over its left eye, the other on the top of its right ear.

 _A Spinda? We saw about twenty of them on route 113,_ Gwen said in a confused tone. _And they were pretty weak out there._

"I know you use Normal types," Brendan said. _But I have no fighting types,_ he thought, silently cursing himself for not planning for this better. "Then I guess I will start with my own Normal type. Go, Nikki!" The sloth Pokémon appeared and gave a confident grunt.

Norman's eyes went wide. _A chip off the old block,_ he thought as the scoreboard lit up and brought up the faces of both trainers with the count of Pokémon they had left. "Well, Brendan, you attack fir–" he said, only to be cut off by Brendan giving a command.

"Nikki, use Slash!" Brendan said. Nikki leapt quickly at Remi, her claw raised high. Norman, caught by surprise, was almost unable to respond. Almost.

"Remi, use Teeter Dance!" The little panda began to stumble around the field, looking like he was confused already. The dance, however, did its job, getting Nikki to stop running and start dancing along with the confused panda. Brendan realized way too late that Nikki was now confused.

"Nikki, try to use Slash again!" Brendan said, praying to whatever higher powers existed that she would land a successful attack. It seemed that Arceus was not listening. Nikki stumbled and swung, only to wind up spinning and falling hard. The screen showing Nikki's health bar dropping by a few points. Brendan took a deep breath. "Nikki, try to calm down and focus!"

"Brendan, you'll need to do better than that to win over me," Norman said. "Now, Remi, use Psybeam!" Remi's eyes glowed like Gwen's did when she used her psychic abilities as he fired off rings of energy at Nikki, hitting the Vigoroth hard. While dropping her health bar further, it seemed that the hit also brought Nikki back to her senses.

"Nikki, use Bulk Up!" Brendan said. Nikki took a deep breath, boosting her attacking and defending strength. "Now, use Slash once more!" Nikki leapt at Remi, this time she was successful with her attack, sending Remi rolling backward. On the scoreboard, Brendan saw the Spinda's health drop almost to zero. "Finish this with Fury Swipes!" Nikki leapt forward, her claws raised.

"Sucker Punch!" Norman called. Remi's paws took on a black glow as he leapt forward, and just before Nikki got in her first attack, Remi snuck under her claws and punched her in the gut.

Nikki was thrown backward a short distance away, shaking off the blow as she leapt forward, swiping her claws at Remi repeatedly. This time, Remi didn't have a counter, getting knocked out. The buzzer of the scoreboard proved that to be the case.

Norman nodded as he recalled his Spinda. "Your battle style with Nikki is interesting. You utilize the power of her attacking abilities. However, it's time for you to see how to really use the Slaking evolution line. Let's go Victor!" he called out as he threw his next Pokéball. Brendan then took on a look of surprise as he saw another, slightly larger Vigoroth take the field.

"Dad has a Vigoroth too?" Brendan said almost breathlessly. "Oh no."

"Now, Victor, let's finish this in one attack! Retaliate!" Norman said. Victor jumped quickly as he sprinted at Nikki, his arm raised for an attack. Nikki, without Brendan having to say anything, tried to dodge the incoming attack. She failed. Victor's arm struck Nikki across her chest. Nikki's eyes went wide, but she stayed stationary for a moment before she was sent flying with unimaginable speed before she crashed into the wall below the stands.

"Nikki!" Brendan called with a worried tone. The buzzer sounded, indicating a knock out. Brendan's eyes went wide. "No way, it was that strong?" His voice was quiet at this point. He had Nikki return to her Pokéball, but he didn't lose his worried look.

"A bit confused, I see," Norman said. "Allow me to explain, Retaliate is an attack that doubles in power if used immediately after an allied Pokémon faints. Having a Pokémon with such high attacking power with this attack is a sort of trump card."

Brendan now understood what he was up against. He didn't let his worry show on his face. "Alright, then I guess I will just have to bring down Victor's attack," he said. "Jack, let's go!" he sent out the Numel, who looked ready to battle.

"Well then, let's see what your plan is," Norman said confidently.

"I won't keep you waiting," Brendan said. "Jack, use Heat Wave!" Jack let out a cone of fiery air from his mouth, hitting Victor. It caused Victor's health bar to drop by a third, and it became outlined with scarlet.

Norman just chuckled and shook his head. "A bit of a bad choice there son," he said. "Victor, use Façade!" Victor's body began to glow yellow before he ran forward and punched Jack across the face with immense strength. That dropped Jack's health to the one quarter mark. "I know you'll be confused by this one too, so allow me to explain. You see, Façade is an attack that doubles its power if the user has a status ailment. If that ailment happens to be a burn, then the attack reduction is removed for the attack," he said confidently.

 _Fuck!_ Brendan thought. "Jack, I know you can keep going. Now, I need you to use Mud Bomb!" Jack fired multiple orbs of mud from his back, each one hitting Victor in a different area. One even hit Victor's eyes. _That could help us._ Brendan noted.

 _Well, you'd better attack more, or Jack won't last much longer!_ Gwen said.

 _I know,_ Brendan replied. "Now Jack, use Magnitude!" on the scoreboard, a number wheel rolled briefly, and stopped on 10. Brendan then realized that it was showing the power level of Magnitude. Jack stomped on the ground hard, causing it to quake and break apart, multiple pieces of rock popping up and hitting Victor in the chest and arms, sending the Vigoroth tumbling back.

"Lucky shot," Norman said as he watched Victor's health drop even further, almost to zero. Just as Norman was about to call another attack, however, Victor was surrounded by flames and his health was depleted, and the buzzer sounded. Norman raised an eyebrow, but he simply recalled Victor. "Well Brendan, this is certainly one of the best battles I've had so far. However, let me show you my more powerful Pokémon. That will be your true test!" Norman then took out his next Pokéball. "Let's go Oliver!" The next Pokémon looked almost like a badger, but his fur was tan with a brown arrow pattern along his back reaching up to the top of his head.

Brendan pulled out his Pokédex, the information it provided was helpful. The Pokémon was Linoone, a very fast normal-type Pokémon with average attacking power. "Alright, let's do this," Brendan said. "Jack, use Iron Head!" Jack's head began to gleam like polished metal as he ran at Oliver.

"Oliver, use Belly Drum!" Norman said. The Linoone stood on his hind legs and began to slap his belly. Brendan watched Oliver's health bar get cut in half. But then a red aura surrounded the Pokémon, but it was so much more intense than anything that Brendan had ever seen from a Pokémon. "Now, use Slash!" Just before Jack could get a hit in, Oliver swiped one of his claws across his body, hitting the Numel across the face, sending him flying back. Brendan knew at that point that Jack had lost this battle. The buzzer was just unnecessary confirmation. Brendan had Jack return to his Pokéball, thanking the Pokémon.

"That was actually impressive," Brendan said. "But, I still have three more Pokémon left. Let's go Turk!" He threw his next Pokéball, letting out the Corphish. As always, Turk looked extremely confident for this battle. "Turk, that Linoone has maximized his attacking strength. You will need to be fast and tough defensively to win this!" Turk nodded in understanding. "Alright, then let's begin this with Aqua Jet!" Turk was surrounded by a water sphere before it turned into a geyser as Turk flew at Oliver. While he was flying, though, his body began to glow white and he began to grow to over three feet tall. His tail grew longer and his feet formed into two, larger legs and two smaller legs. His claws also grew significantly, with two sharp extensions to each side of his claws. The glowing ceased and Brendan could see the final result of the evolution. Turk was now mostly red with a blue arrow pointing down on his front, which was still the same color as before. He also had a yellow star on the top of his head. Turk then slammed into Oliver, striking hard. Brendan pulled out his Pokédex, scanning his Pokémon and seeing what attacks had been acquired, and indeed one had.

"Well, it seems you now have a Crawdaunt. Congratulations, but that will not be enough to win this," Norman said as he noticed Oliver's health drop to the quarter mark. "Now, Oliver, use Façade!" Oliver took on a yellow glow as he ran at Turk, a fierce look on his face.

"Turk, use Razor Shell!" Brendan called. Turk's claws began to glow as energy wrapped around them and formed what looked like sword blades. Just as Oliver was about to land a hit, Turk swung his right claw, slashing the Linoone across the face. At the same time, Oliver continued through with his attack, sending Turk tumbling back toward Brendan. This time, the buzzer sounded twice in a row. It was a double knockout. Both Brendan and Norman recalled their Pokémon.

"Well, it seems that you really did inherit my battling skill. You may even have more," Norman said. "But that last part will only be seen once you've seen the last Pokémon in my line up. Let's go, Warren!" The next Pokémon that Norman sent out was a massive, brown sloth ape. Its hands were the massive, bigger than its pecs. It looked to be sleeping, but Brendan could tell that it was sturdy, and it had unimaginable strength.

Brendan had two choices left, and he already had the order chosen. "Clint, come on out!" The Grovyle appeared, a look of cool confidence on his face. "Clint, this battle is going to be very tough. I think I know what attack is going to be coming first, so be ready to dodge it!" Clint nodded his understanding.

"Warren, use Retaliate!" Norman called. Warren's eyes popped open as he stood up and sprinted at Clint rapidly.

"Just as I thought," Brendan said. "Clint, use Agility to dodge, then use Leaf Blade!" Clint vanished from sight just as Warren was mere inches away from hitting his mark. The attack carried through, slamming into the ground and creating an enormous, but shallow, crater that took almost all of Brendan's side of the field. _Shit, I can't let Clint take a single one of those attacks. It'll do too much damage._

"Warren, take your rest!" Norman said. Brendan raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it as Clint reappeared behind Warren, the leaves on his arms glowing with a forest green energy that had extended to form blades. Clint then slashed Warren across the back. Warren's health bar dropped slightly, but it was clear that this Pokémon was far sturdier than any Brendan had battled before, except for maybe Maxie's Mega-Evolved Camerupt. "Well, Brendan, you have been raising a Vigoroth, you must be familiar with their Truant ability," Norman said. "There's a reason that they have that ability."

"I think I figured that out," Brendan said. "The attacks are so powerful that they need to rest for a short while before they move again." While he said that, Clint had leapt back to Brendan's side of the field.  
"Exactly," Norman said. "But once that time is up, you'll find that the attacks are still just as strong. Focus Punch!" Warren's right fist began to glow orange with immense power before he leapt at Clint.

"Clint, dodge that!" Brendan said. There was no reason to try to get an attack off; they just needed to keep away from the Slaking's powerful attacks. Unfortunately, it seemed that was not in the cards for Clint. Warren's punch hit perfectly, sending the wood gecko flying off the field. The buzzer sounded, with one solid hit, that Slaking had knocked out Brendan's second strongest Pokémon. Brendan recalled Clint, looking over to Gwen, nodding to her.

 _We can still win this, don't worry!_ Gwen said.

 _Right, let's show him what we're made of,_ Brendan replied. He then looked to Norman. "Dad, this is our last round, but you won't hear me give a single command," he said. Norman looked a bit confused.

"You're not going to attack?" he asked.

"I never said that," Brendan said. _Gwen, Double Team!_ Gwen created multiple copies of herself around the field as she teleported and switched positions with each. Norman raised an eyebrow.

"You're using non-verbal commands?" Norman said. _Are those two already_ _ **that**_ _in-sync?_

 _You know what's next,_ Brendan said.

 _Right, Calm Mind,_ Gwen replied as she coated herself in a green aura.

Norman turned serious once again. "Warren, use Body Slam!" Warren leapt into the air, falling toward one of Gwen's many clones. Thankfully, it was not the real Gwen.

 _Now, Shock Wave!_ Brendan said. From one of her stops, Gwen spun like a dancer, sending a ring of electricity across the battlefield. Warren couldn't dodge it, but just like with Leaf Blade, the attack did very little damage, dropping the health bar by maybe an eighth.

"Calm down, find the real one, then use Façade," Norman said. Warren closed his eyes and took a deep breath focusing his hearing and sense of smell, looking diligently for the fairy-type.

 _Calm Mind again,_ Brendan said. Gwen, and her clones all glowed green, this time, Gwen took a deep breath. Warren picked up on that breath, and he was able to track her around the field. His body began to glow with a yellow aura as he leapt through the air, his fists raised over his head. Gwen saw him coming, but decided to wait until the last second before teleporting to her next position. The incoming attack hit the ground with intense force, forming another crater, this one was deeper than the first, but it wasn't as wide. _Wait until he's out of there, then use Psychic!_

"Warren, use Slash!" Norman said. Warren slowly climbed out of the crater, recovering from his attack. When he got out, however, Gwen had already begun powering up, getting a grip on Warren and slowly raised her arm, lifting him into the air.

 _Throw him into the ground!_ Brendan said. Gwen let her clones disperse, revealing that she was in the center of the shallow crater on Brendan's side of the field. She then simply flicked her hand down, sending Warren plummeting into the ground. That dropped Warren's health bar significantly, leaving about a third of Warren's total health.

"Warren, continue with that Slash attack!" Norman said. Warren got to his feet and leapt at Gwen, swiping his claws across her body.

 _Ah, shit!_ Gwen said, her health bar dropping swiftly. _No, I will not lose this!_ Her health bar stopped abruptly at the one point mark. She only slid a short distance away from Warren.

 _Finish this with Hyper Voice!_ Brendan said. Gwen took a deep breath and screamed, sending a massive, conical sonic wave at Warren. Gwen was too close to Warren when she used the attack, making it impossible for Warren to dodge it in time. He was sent sprawling across the battlefield. Brendan watched Warren's health drop fast until it hit zero. It was only when the buzzer sounded that Brendan fully understood what had just happened.

Norman, however, was still in shock. _I can't believe it. I lost…to Brendan. It seems like it was only yesterday that he was taking his first steps,_ he thought as he recalled his Slaking. _It seems my son has really grown up._

"Gwen, you were amazing!" Brendan cheered as he ran onto the field and hugged his Pokémon. Norman approached Brendan, three items in his right hand.

"Well, Brendan, you've certainly gotten powerful," Norman said. "It's hard to believe that it's only been about two months since you first left for Rustboro City. It's impressive to say the least that you've already come this far as a trainer."

"Thanks Dad," Brendan said with a smile.

"Well, you've officially earned your fifth badge. Here's the Balance Badge," Norman said as he gave Brendan a badge that had two circles on the ends of a straight bar in between. They had a purple color on the far ends and a dark silver middle section. "And, as a personal gift from me as both the Petalburg Gym Leader and as your father, here are two TMs. They are TM42, which teaches Façade, and TM67, which teaches Retaliate."

Brendan took the two TMs with a look of gratitude. "Thank you Dad, for everything," he said, hugging his father. Norman returned the hug, feeling a mixture of disappointment at having lost the battle, as well as pride for his son. It was a strange feeling.

 _Well, Brendan, it seems that you've surpassed me,_ Norman thought.

 **Thank you all for reading, hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought in the reviews section. Be honest, but keep it constructive.**

 **Well, until next time. – jmoul18**


	30. Lending a Hand

_Lending a Hand_

At 9:55 the next morning, like when they first left for their journey, Brendan and Gwen were waiting at the northern end of Littleroot, waiting to go to route 101 with May. Both trainers had returned home with their families for the night, getting one more night before they left for Arceus knows how long. Both trainers had also promised to keep in contact more this time, since they had been a little careless with that during the first period of their journey. This time, it seemed that May was keeping Brendan waiting this time around.

 _Hey, Brendan, when we first left this place, didn't your mother give you an amulet?_ Gwen asked.

Brendan nodded. "Yeah, and I've kept it with me ever since," he said, pulling the amulet out from under his shirt.

"Hey!" May called from a short distance, waving to them as she approached. "Are we all ready to go?"

Before he answered, Brendan grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a quick kiss. "Absolutely," he said, pulling her along with him to the route. "Come on!"

"Brendan!" May cried as she was dragged along the route. "This is my job!"

"Too bad, it's been outsourced!" Brendan said with a charming smile as he pulled her with him. May eventually relented and just ran along with her man.  
 _Hey, wait for me!_ Gwen said, floating beside them as they ran toward Oldale Town.

The two trainers passed through the small town quickly, once again seeing the same crazy guy who had been drawing his own footprints when they started their journey. They chuckled because he seemed to be at it again, this time, sketching what looked like his handprint on a sign.

Instead of heading to the west, toward Petalburg, though, they went north toward Route 103. They made it to the side of the river that led to the eastern part of the route, but Brendan stopped for a moment. "Hey, May, want to go toward that pond and listen to some music? I'll sneak up on you again," Brendan said happily.

May just rolled her eyes a little. "You know, I don't think I've paid you back properly for that one," she said.

"How about you pay me back once we get to Fortree," Brendan said. "Now there's the issue of crossing the river."

 _Leave it to me!_ Gwen said. She placed her hands on both Brendan and May. She closed her eyes and focused on the location across the river. In an instant, they found themselves on the opposite shore, scaring a fisherman out of his chair.

"Oh, sorry about that sir!" May said with an apologetic look. The fisherman just chuckled and waved it off. May then turned to Brendan. "Well, it's now time for me to take back my job." She then grabbed Brendan by his hand and began to drag him to route 110, both of them laughing the whole way.

They walked for about two hours before arriving in Mauville City, moving really quickly compared to the last time they passed through route 110. When they got to the center of town, however, Brendan had to shield his eyes from the bright light emanating from the Prism Tower replica, and May was . Brendan then noticed Wattson standing in front of the tower, and he seemed to be pondering something.

"Wattson?" Brendan asked, catching the attention of the electric gym leader.

"Oh, this is a pleasant surprise! Brendan, May, and Gwen, how are all of you?" Wattson said.

"Oh, we're doing great!" May said. "We're actually on our way to Fortree City."

"Oh, off to face Winona?" Wattson said. "Well, you're certainly prepared for it, especially after that impressive fight with your father."

Brendan was a bit surprised. "You saw that battle," he asked.

Wattson laughed heartily. "You haven't been watching the Pokémon Battle channel recently, have you?"

"Admittedly, no," May said. "We've been really busy."

"Well, that battle has been the main topic of conversation there. They've been analyzing it and making predictions for how you'll do if you enter the Pokémon League tournament," Wattson said.

 _Really, what are they saying?_ Gwen asked.

"Right now, they're saying that Brendan would make it to the quarter finals at best," Wattson said. "But those analysts have been wrong about that many times. They even said that Red in Kanto wouldn't make it beyond round sixteen. But, anyway, there's something more pressing that I need to ask you."

Brendan raised an eyebrow. "Go on," he said.

"Well, as you're probably wondering, the reason this tower is so bright is because there is something that triggered the alarm in New Mauville. It's the power station that I built specifically for this city. It's likely nothing, but I just want to be completely sure. Unfortunately, the gym requires my full attention."

"So you want us to go and check it out?" May said.

"Precisely," Wattson said. "But, of course, I will make it worth your while."

 _Oh, why not?_ Gwen said. _We might as well check it out._

"Well, if Gwen wants to go, I can't refuse," Brendan said.

"I guess that I have to go along too," May said, feigning reluctance.

"Excellent, well before you go, I need to scan your thumbprints," Wattson said as he pulled out a machine with a scanner pad and turned it on. "The gates to New Mauville only open to those who have clearance." Brendan and May both obliged and got their prints scanned. "Now, one last thing, you'll need to know where New Mauville is." Brendan pulled out his PokeNav map and let Wattson place a mark where they needed to go, and the trio went right back to route 110.

Twenty minutes later:

Their trip to New Mauville turned out to be rather uneventful. It turned out that there was nothing at all going on, the security system had just been tripped when a stray Rattata got in and stood on one of the thumbprint scanners briefly. What a Rattata was doing in Hoenn was unknown, but Brendan honestly wasn't too interested. Once the issue had been resolved, Gwen simply teleported them back to the entrance of Mauville. They then made their way into the center courtyard of the city, finding Wattson waiting for them there, and also noting that the Prism Tower replica was now at a normal brightness.

"Alright, we're back," Brendan said. "You were right, it turned out to be nothing."

Wattson turned around, looking a bit sheepish. "Yeah, I'm sorry for that. I got the report from the computer," he said. But then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a TM disc. "As I said, here's your reward for helping me." He handed it to Brendan. "This is TM24, it teaches my personal favorite electric attack: Thunderbolt."

Brendan's eyes widened. "Wow, thanks," he said.

"Oh thanks are not necessary," Wattson said. "But, anyway, I need to get back to the gym. Good luck in the Fortree Gym!" He gave a wave as he left. Once he was gone, Brendan and May went east, going toward route 118.

The route itself was pretty. It had small stretch of the ocean that went through the center, and there were two beaches on each side. That was when both Brendan and May got the distinct feeling that they were being watched again. This time, when they looked around, there was nothing, but they didn't lose that feeling.

 _Alright, same method of crossing as with Route 103,_ Gwen said as they got to the edge of the western beach. She placed her hands on both May and Brendan, teleporting to the other side with no trouble.

"Thanks Gwen," Brendan said. They then continued east, but were soon surprised by a familiar face.

"Well, if it isn't Brendan and May. I remember you two from Granite Cave," Steven said. "Well, I'm glad to see that you two are doing well."

"Steven, good to see you too," Brendan said. "What have you been up to?"

"Actually, I've been working with Devon Corp and the Space Center in Mossdeep," Steven said. "But enough about me, what have you two experienced on your journeys? What Pokémon have you been raising?"

 _Ahem!_ Gwen said, getting Steven's attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot about you," Steven said. "How have you been Gwen?"

 _Well, you remembered my name_ , Gwen said. _But I've been working hard and getting stronger._

Steven smiled and nodded. "I see, and it's not just you. Both Brendan and May have a newfound strength in their ey–"He was cut off by two shrill cries, best described as cooing. His eyes widened as he looked behind both Brendan and May. The other two trainers and Gwen turned around. It was at this point that they realized what, or rather who, had been watching them recently. There in front of them were two Pokémon out of legend: Latias, and Latios.

Latias and Latios looked into Brendan's and May's eyes respectively. Latias then turned from Brendan to Gwen. She gave a couple chirps and coos, clearly saying something in an almost frantic tone. And Gwen's eyes went wide. _Guys, these two need our help. Team Aqua and Team Magma have found their secret island home, and their trying to steal an important artifact from the island._

Brendan nodded in understanding. "Gwen, are you able to get us there?"

 _No, I don't know where it is, and it's likely too far away for me to teleport_ , Gwen said. Latios cooed this time, his voice deeper than Latias's. Gwen nodded. _But that's not a problem, since these two said they'd fly us there._

Without any more explanation, Latias flew between Brendan's legs picking him up and getting him onto her back, and she did it in an almost playful manner. Gwen teleported behind her trainer and wrapped her arms around his waist. May and Steven got onto Latios's back. Both cooed once more. Without Gwen translating, Brendan knew that they were saying to hold on tight. With that, the two Pokémon flew south at what should have been an impossible speed.

It took only a few short minutes to get to their destination. It was a rather large island that was beyond the southernmost edges of Hoenn's borders. It was a tropical paradise with only one path that looked like it was freshly cut. Latias and Latios both gave coos as they took Brendan, Gwen, May, and Steven over the forest to what looked like a shrine of some sort, landing in front of a beautiful fountain with two stone statues with what looked like mega evolution stones. There was a deep-looking pond beside the shrine, making the clearing all the more serene The trainers leapt off both of the Eon Pokémon, knowing they needed to get ready for a battle. Thankfully, it seemed that they had a few minutes before both criminal organizations showed up.

"Hmm…" Steven mused, gazing into the fountain. "So, it seems that the legendary Soul Dew is actually real." Brendan, who was curious about what a Soul Dew was, walked up behind Steven and peered into the fountain as well. Inside was a beautiful blue orb that resembled a giant dew drop and it seemed to glow with a light of its own. He then looked at the two stones in the statues. They were both mostly purple with darker purple streaks through the center mixed with a red streak in one, and a blue streak in the other.

"These must be their mega stones," May noted, beating Brendan to it.

"AYE, that they be!" said a deep voice. Brendan vaguely remembered it, although he really wished he didn't. The man who owned the voice was a tanned, towering mass of muscle. He was at least 6'5", and he had the Team Aqua logo tattooed on his abs. That was only visible because the only clothing he wore was a blue wet suit that had the half above the waist ripped cleanly off, with the exception of the gloves and collar. He wore a yellow beaded necklace and a similar belt. While he clearly incredibly strong, he was severely lacking in terms of intelligence.

 _It's Matt, Archie's bitch,_ Gwen said in a very sassy tone.

"Hey, Archie is my bro!" Matt said. "And I am almost as strong as he is!"

"Yeah, sure you are Matt," Brendan said. "Hey, May, do you mind if I take care of this clown?"

"Go right ahead," May said, waving Brendan on. "I want the Team Magma person anyway."

Brendan nodded. "Matt, whatever you're doing here, you won't succeed," he said as he grabbed Jack's Pokéball. "Now, show me what you've got."

"Fine, let's go Vlad!" he called, sending out a Golbat.

"Jack, come on out!" Brendan said. The Numel was excited, that much was obvious, and he seemed ready for a battle.

"Kid, you are dead! Vlad, use Bite!" Matt said. Vlad's teeth began to glow slightly as he flew toward Jack without abandon.

"Heat Wave," Brendan said calmly. Jack began to breath a cone of pure, fiery heat. Vlad was overcome by the attack and was forced to stop his advance, unfortunately Vlad was only a few inches from Jack. "Now use Iron Head!" Jack just lunged forward, his head shining like polished metal, and sent Vlad flying backwards. The poison bat collapsed to the ground and passed out.

"Vlad, you lazy bum, get up!" Matt said, clearly not comprehending the fact that his Pokémon had lost. Jack, however, had a victorious look on his face as he gave a loud cry. His body then began to glow white.

"Of course," Brendan said with a laugh. "All my other Pokémon have evolved recently, why not you too?" Jack grew steadily as his body changed from a Numel into a Camerupt. When the glowing ceased, Jack mooed loudly and confidently. "Great job Jack!" Brendan said. He decided to use his Pokédex to scan his Pokémon and see what had changed. The biggest change was a new attack.

"Oh, this is going to be too easy for me," Matt said. "Come out Tyrone!" His Pokéball went over the pond and opened, letting the Pokémon dive in before forming completely. Brendan saw the strange shape in the water, it looked like a shark with no tail, almost like it was a torpedo.

 _It's a Sharpedo,_ Gwen said. _They're extremely fast water/dark types._

 _Well, we have a good counter here_ , Brendan replied.

"Tyrone, use Crunch!" Matt said. The Sharpedo leapt out of the water, flying at Jack, his teeth glowing with a black aura.

"Jack, use Rock Slide!" Brendan said. Jack fired multiple boulders from his back. They rained down on Tyrone, covering him in boulders and trapping him. "Now, another Heat Wave to finish this." Jack let out another cone of fiery air, the attack burned the shark badly, ending the battle.

"NO! My bro will be mad about this!" Matt said as he recalled his Pokémon. There then came the sound of a woman's cackling laughter behind them.

"Oh Matt, you poor simpleton," the almost pink-haired Team Magma woman said. Brendan had to admit that she was actually quite beautiful. If she hadn't been in Team Magma, she might have rivaled May.

"Courtney, well I can't say that it's good to see you again," Matt said. "But I doubt you'll do any better."

"I'll do better because Maxie is depending on me to get both those Pokémon and their artifacts," Courtney said. "I can't let him down."

"Oh you're one of THOSE," May said. "The type of girl who will literally do anything to impress her boss." She grimaced in disgust.

Courtney glared at May. "And you're the little bitch we held hostage on Mt. Chimney. Tell me, how was your volcanic diving?"

May narrowed her eyes menacingly. "I'm going to enjoy beating you much more than I should."

Courtney scoffed. "Please, you couldn't beat me if you tried. Now, come on out Dolengen!" Her first Pokémon of choice was a Golbat as well.

May smiled. "Come out Erza!" she sent out the steel monster of a Pokémon.

"Dolengen, use Poison Fang!" Courtney said. The Pokémon looked at her trainer with a confused expression, but did as commanded. She flew up as her teeth began to turn a dark purple color, and she then flew at Erza.

May face-palmed and said "Erza, just let it hit you, then use Iron Tail." Dolengen bit Erza's back, her teeth bouncing off and doing no damage. Erza's tail began to glow as she whipped it around and hit the Golbat in the face, sending her tumbling across the ground painfully. Courtney recalled the beaten Golbat with what sounded like a growl.

"You won't get so lucky when I send out Carly!" Courtney said as she sent out her next Pokémon, which turned out to be a Camerupt. "Now, use Flamethrower!" The fire yak unleashed a jet of fire that gave off a lot of heat.

"Use Protect, then Rock Tomb," May said. Erza was surrounded by a sphere of green energy that repelled the fire and prevented any damage. When Carly stopped her assault, Erza dropped the shield and stomped her foot, causing four boulders to erupt from the ground around the Camerupt. "Finish this with Iron Head." Erza charged forward, her head shining like polished steel once again. She crashed through all four boulders, sending Carly flying backward in an almost comical arc.

Courtney was clearly pissed off that she had lost just as badly as the gibbering oaf from Team Aqua. She recalled her Camerupt, with a glare at May. "You will pay for this bitch!"

"You too ya' little prick," Matt said, venom in his voice. Gwen and Steven both had a slight chuckle at those statements as the two admins of the eco-terrorists fled the island.

When they were gone, both Latias and Latios cooed, getting the attention of all those present.

Gwen listened to what they were both saying, her eyes going wide at what was being said. _Hey, Brendan, May, you're going to find what they're saying very interesting._ Brendan and May both came forward, a bit confused, but intrigued too. _First things first, they're telling you two to take their mega stones. Brendan, Latias wants you to take hers, and Latios wants May to take his._ Brendan and May both did as asked, Brendan taking the stone with the red streak through it, which was closer to Latias. May went and took the blue-streaked stone, which was beside Latios.

"Okay, is there anything else we need to do?" Brendan said. He thought he had figured this out, but he wanted confirmation.

 _Only one more thing to do, they want us to take them on our journey. Avery, the Latias, wants to go with Brendan. And Drake, the Latios, wants to go with May,_ Gwen said.

May looked shocked. "As in, they want to battle us to test us?" she asked. Avery answered that question, grabbing the last empty Pokéball on Brendan's belt, tossing it into the air and tapping the button, and getting pulled inside. Brendan, who was beyond shocked, caught the Pokéball as it began to shake briefly. It stopped and sent sparks flying, indicating a successful capture.

 _Does that answer your question?_ Gwen said with an amused smile. May smiled as well, pulling out an empty Pokéball as well. Drake, who seemed to be the more mellow of the two Eon Pokémon, flew forward, tapping the button with his nose. The Pokéball opened and brought the Pokémon inside, shaking briefly before sending up sparks.

"Yes it does," May said.

 _Oh, and there was one last thing they mentioned before you caught them. They must have the Soul Dew near them so they can protect it. They want us to take it with us._

Steven's eyebrows raised even further than they had been during the captures. These two kids were being entrusted with both the Eon Pokémon, which were two of the strongest, not to mention rarest, dragons in Hoenn. And on top of that, they were also being given their Mega Stones, and the Soul Dew. The old dragon master of the Hoenn elite four would not believe it if Steven told him.

Brendan looked to May. "Let's pull the Soul Dew out together," he said. May nodded, walking beside Brendan to the fountain. They both reached in and grabbed hold of the Soul Dew, taking it out of the water and admiring it. There was a distinct, blue glow coming from it that seemed almost spiritual. May then winked at Brendan as she took it and placed it inside her pack.

"Alright, well, I guess it's time we get back to Route 118," Steven said. "I'm guessing that Avery and Drake will need to fly us back."

"Right," Brendan said as he sent Avery out for the first time. The Latias cooed joyfully as she flew around, stealing Brendan's hat and getting her new trainer to chase her as a game. Gwen laughed, but decided that it looked like fun, so she joined in as well. May decided to let out Drake, so she could get to know her new Pokémon as well. The Latios didn't try to steal anything, but he did fly under her and pick her up, starting to fly and take her around in loops and barrel-rolls. May was a bit freaked out at first, but she quickly began to enjoy herself. Steven just smiled as he sat down in the grass, watching the antics of the trainers and their Pokémon.

In about an hour, Brendan and Gwen were exhausted, and unsuccessful in their endeavor to get Brendan's hat back, and both May and Drake had landed beside Steven. Avery, on the other hand, seemed to have unlimited energy, but she understood that they needed to take a break from the game. She just flew down to Brendan and dropped his hat on his head before nuzzling him lovingly, getting him to hug her back. Gwen, who was glad to have made a great new friend, just smiled and joined the embrace. _I think Steven and May are ready to get back to Route 118,_ she said.

"I know," Brendan said as he turned more toward Latias. "Avery, are you ready to leave the island?" Avery didn't hesitate to pick up both Gwen and Brendan, getting them on her back. She issued a brief chirp to Drake, who picked up May and Steven, and led the way off the island and going north toward Route 118.

When they departed, Brendan noticed that the sun was starting to set already. "Wow, we were here a lot longer than we thought," he said. "We're probably going to need to set up camp once we're back."

 _I'll help with that!_ Gwen said.

Avery glanced back toward Brendan and Gwen, giving a chirp that seemed to say "I'll help too!" And she continued to fly quickly toward Route 118. She was beyond delighted. Not only had she made three amazing new friends, but she and her brother would be traveling together with them. It was definitely the greatest day of her life, and she could tell Drake was feeling the same.

 **Hey everybody, hope you enjoyed that chapter. Please leave a review, and let me know what you thought, just keep any criticism constructive.**

 **A few items I get the feeling will be questioned in this chapter:**

 **\- I glanced over the New Mauville errand because it was unnecessary filler, but the reward is still awesome.**

 **\- Courtney's Golbat, Dolengen, is named in reference to one of the wives of Dracula.**

 **\- I realize the Soul Dew may be too powerful for this point in the journey, but they're getting closer to getting their Mega Stones and keystones, so they're about to get some major power boosts anyway.**

 **\- If you're wondering why I gave Latias and Latios to Brendan and May respectively, it's because I chose Alpha Sapphire, and I played as Brendan, so it's just my personal preference. based on my own experience.**

 **Anyway, that's all I wanted to address. Weather Institute rescue is the next chapter. Until next time – jmoul18.**


	31. The Plots Thicken

_The Plots Thicken_

The next morning, Brendan and May were sitting around a fire pit that Brendan had set up to cook a breakfast of oatmeal with Pecha berries, some Sitrus Berries growing nearby, and brown sugar mixed in. It wasn't anything fancy, but May and Gwen were both more than happy with the taste, and they even helped themselves to seconds. The day was already looking bright, but they had to get moving soon.

Once the oatmeal was finished, and the fire was out, they cleared the campsite, taking down the tent and starting on their way to the west until they got to the fork in the road, on continuing west, the other to the north. What they didn't like, however, was the fact that the road north, the road they needed to take, led straight into storm clouds.

"So, who is ready to get soaked?" Brendan said using the same tone of voice that would be used for a sales pitch and giving a sarcastic thumbs up.

 _Yeah, so much fun,_ Gwen said with an eye-roll.

"Well, I brought a two-person umbrella when we left home last time. So, I should be fine!" May said. Brendan's expression turned depressed a little.

"I forgot to bring my own," he said.

Gwen just shrugged. _Well, looks like you'll be the only one getting soaked, because I'm joining May!_ They continued north, seeing a massive field of tall grass in front of them. It was so tall that Brendan could barely see over it. To make matters worse, the sky had just begun to open up.

May took out her umbrella, but immediately realized that she wouldn't be able to fit it through the almost wooded grass. "Damn, I thought we could avoid getting wet," she said, sounding disappointed.

 _I could try to make a psychic shield to block the rain, but I'm not sure how effective that will be,_ Gwen said.

"Don't worry about it," Brendan said. "We're bound to get soaked anyway. Might as well accept it and have some fun." May just groaned with the suggestion, but she knew Brendan was right. It was either have Gwen unnecessarily exhaust herself, or just endure the rain. After all, it's not like it was a thunderstorm. Without much of a complaint, May and Gwen followed Brendan through the grassy field.

They trudged on for almost two hours, getting more soaked and miserable with every minute. "Brendan, remind me to never listen to you about how we prepare for weather!" May shouted.

"I think I can do that," Brendan said, not wanting to make the situation worse with bad humor. During their walk, they had gotten into a few battles with other trainers on the route, but all of them were relatively quick, ending in one or two attacks each. In the distance, they could see a large, white building with multiple windows in the front and a large array of instruments on top. "Hey, let's go get dry in that building!" Brendan said.

 _Sounds good,_ Gwen said as she grabbed both of their shoulders and teleported them to the door.

"Thanks Gwen," Brendan said as he opened the door for the ladies.

"Again, you're such a gentleman," May said as she entered the building. Gwen followed and Brendan was close behind.

On the bridge nearby, which Brendan and May hadn't noticed, were two Aqua Grunts. One just looked to the other before taking out a radio.

"Commander Shelly," he said. " **Those** kids just arrived."

"I copy, thanks for the advance warning," said a woman's voice over the radio. "Stay where you are until ordered otherwise."

"Damn it, I want to get out of the rain," the one without the radio said.

"We're Team Aqua, rain is our element," the other said. "So suck it up."

Inside the building, Brendan and May were surprised to see both a set of shelves with multiple towels on it and a hot drink maker on a table next to it with a sign over them saying 'Travelers, please feel free to take a towel to dry off, and enjoy a complimentary cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or tea.'

"Well, that's really nice of them," Brendan said, grabbing a few towels, which turned out to be very absorbent, handing them to May and Gwen. "They must get a lot of visitors who just want to get out of the rain."

"Yeah, but you know, it seems strangely quiet down here," May said.

 _Now that you mention it, I have to agree, this place is too empty. We should go look around to try and find somebody,_ Gwen said as she finished drying her hair off, which, somehow, fell perfectly back into place. She then walked into the main section of the building, where the lights were completely off she found the nearby power switch, flipping it on only to see that it wasn't working. _Guys, this is getting strange. I don't think this is the kind of place to have power-outages._

Brendan, who had just noticed that the only light actually coming into the building was from outside, joined his first Pokémon in the room. "Well, I may have forgotten an umbrella, but I did bring a flashlight," he said as he pulled the torch from his bag. He flipped it on and he immediately saw who was responsible. "Team Aqua," he growled. There were two grunts in front of a staircase, who were wearing what looked like night vision goggles. The one facing Brendan cried out as he took off his goggles and rubbed his eyes.

"DAMN IT KID! I THINK I'M BLIND NOW!" he shouted. The other one took her goggles off before facing Brendan and May.

"So, you two are here. The boss told us that you'd probably show up," she said. "Gary, get the hell up and get ready to battle them!"

The grunt, who was still rubbing his eyes and blinking quickly, stood up and pulled out his only Pokéball. "Come on out Jay!" the Pokéball let out a Poochyena. How it wasn't a Mightyena, Brendan had no idea.

"Go Fiona!" the girl grunt said, sending out a Masquerain.

"Gwen, use Thunderbolt on both of them!" Brendan said.

Gwen extended her hands, gathering electricity on both. She smiled to herself as she decided to make a reference one of the movies Brendan had shown her during their stay in Littleroot as she sent out two streams of lighting at both enemy Pokémon. _POWER!_ she shouted as the lightning connected. _UNLIMITED POWER!_ The attack sent the two Pokémon flying into the wall. Brendan just laughed and shook his head at what Gwen said.

"Well done," Brendan said with a lasting smile as he led the way past the two grunts and up the stairs.

"Brendan, you need to stop showing her movies and shows that she can reference in battle," May said through giggles that she could barely contain.

 _No he doesn't, shut up!_ Gwen said.

"I showed her that one before she knew Thunderbolt, to be fair," Brendan said. That was when they noticed a light from the upper floor. May decided to take the lead and check out what they were up against.

"Well, doctor, thank you very much for your cooperation and giving us these files," a woman said.

"What do you mean, cooperation? You two threatened to kill us!" said a man who sounded scared.

"And we thank ya for that, my bro will be most appreciative," said another man, whose voice was all too familiar.

Brendan decided he wouldn't just listen to this. He was going to stop this apparent robbery. He stepped out and saw both Matt and a very tan woman with dark brown hair which had two streaks of blue. She wore a blue, two-piece wet suit with the symbol on the bust. She had a pair of swimming goggles on her forehead. Around her waist was a bead belt similar to Matt's. Like with Courtney from Team Magma, she was actually quite beautiful. Had she not been in Team Aqua, she might have on par with May. She was currently standing at a table with a closed laptop with an external hard drive connected to it. "Well, looks like Matt now has a babysitter," Brendan said.

Matt turned around, his eyes full of fury. "The scamp who embarrassed me," Matt said. "I won't let you do that again!" May and Gwen came up behind Brendan, confident and ready to battle.

That's when the woman turned to face the new arrivals, a look of conceited confidence on her face. "I got word from outside that you three were coming," she said. "I suppose I should introduce myself in the interest of being polite. My name is Shelly, and yes, I am currently in charge of Matt since he lost to you two."

"We could care less who you are," May said as she pulled out Miranda's Pokéball. "Just drop the laptop and you can both leave in without a beating."

"Oooh Team Magma's little whore thinks she's tough now, trying to give us orders," Shelly said as she took out her own Pokéball. "Matt, send out one of your Pokémon!" Both Shelly and Matt threw Pokéballs, letting out two Pokémon: a Mightyena from Matt, and Shelly sent out a large mud fish that looked a lot like Wally's Marshtomp, just bigger and more solidly built. Neither trainer said a name for their Pokémon.

"So a Swampert is out now," May said. "Seems that we'll be having a match between Hoenn starters; go Miranda!" She sent out her Combusken, who gave a confident chirp.

Brendan grabbed Clint's Pokéball. _Sorry Gwen, it's Clint's turn to humiliate these guys,_ Brendan said to his Pokémon.

 _Fine by me,_ Gwen said, she wanted to see what her friend would do this time around.

"Let's go Clint!" Brendan said. He sent out his Grovyle, who gave a confident grunt.

"Miranda, use Double Kick on that Mightyena!" May said. Miranda didn't hesitate, leaping forward and landing two solid kicks on the dark wolf.

"Clint, Leaf Blade on that Swampert!" Brendan said. Clint's arm leaves began to glow green as he leapt at and slashed the mud fish across the face with the blades. Unfortunately, it seemed that neither attack would win the fight.

"Muddy Water," Shelly said with a sinister tone. Swampert opened its mouth, spraying a torrent of water mixed with mud at both Miranda and Clint.

"Clint/Miranda, dodge that!" Brendan and May said simultaneously. Both Pokémon leapt into the air, dodging the torrent of water…which continued through only to hit both Brendan and May, sending them back into the wall. Gwen, on the other hand, teleported out of the way before the attack hit. Brendan sensed that she did, but he was glad she got out of harm's way.

"Use Crunch!" Matt said.

Brendan wiped his eyes off and said "Clint, use Mega Drain on Swampert!"

May, who was coughing after she swallowed some of the water, managed to say "Miranda, use Flame Charge on Mightyena!" through each cough. What neither of them saw, however, was the angry looks on the faces of both Clint and Miranda. They were pissed that their trainers and friends had been hit by the attack. They were also getting increasingly mad at the fact that the two members of Team Aqua were reveling in the pain of the two trainers. Both of them gave an angry cry as they began to charge their targets, and both began to glow white simultaneously.

Brendan had just finished wiping the mud out of his eyes when the two Pokémon began to glow. "May, you should see this," Brendan said.

May had just managed to clear her throat when Brendan said that, and once she could see clearly from the tears coughing had caused, she could see that her first Pokémon was evolving once again.

Clint grew to about five feet tall, his tail growing significantly and changing to resemble an evergreen branch. He grew six seed pods on his back and the leaves on both his arms split into two, one on the radial and one on the ulnar side of his forearms. His head changed to have a smaller crest over each of his eyes.

Miranda grew much taller, reaching over six feet, and her body changed much more drastically. Both her arms and legs became longer and somewhat slender, but they clearly packed power. Her head transformed into what looked like a hawk's face with two antennae of sorts from her beak. She then grew a cream-colored downy tuft of feathers that grew out and back from her head into what looked like the wings a bird of prey in a dive. When both ceased glowing, Brendan and May were looking at a Sceptile and a Blaziken. Instinctively, both trainers took out their Pokédex and scanned their newly evolved Pokémon to check if they had learned any new attacks; both had.

"Miranda, change that attack to Blaze Kick!"

"Clint, you use Dual Chop this time!" Both Pokémon listened to their trainers with confident grins on their faces. Miranda leapt into the air, spinning as her right foot caught fire. She got to the Mightyena, whose fangs were bared and glowing with a black aura, and delivered a devastating kick to its head, sending it sprawling. Clint's leaves began to glow with a purple energy as he leapt at the Swampert, hitting it repeatedly and sending the big mud fish flying backward until he landed, unconscious at Shelly's feet.

"NO, Archie is gonna be so mad!" Matt said.

"Shut up you oaf!" Shelly said as she recalled her Pokémon, Matt following suit. "We got what we came here for." She strode over to the laptop on the desk tried to take the external hard drive, but Clint ran in between her and the desk, his speed having increased dramatically, and Gwen teleporting behind him.

Shelly backed up, slightly afraid of these two, especially the Gardevoir, after hearing the rumors surrounding them. _Yeah, you're not taking any of this._ Gwen said.

Shelly just shrugged. "Oh well, I still memorized the vital information on that drive. It's more of a back-up than anything. That was when her radio sounded.

"Commander Shelly, bad news, Team Magma has been mobilizing in force and they're heading for Mt Pyre!" said a male grunt. Shelly's eyes went wide.

"Fuck!" she swore. "Matt, forget the hard drive! We have to get to Mt. Pyre before Team Magma does!" With that, she and Matt both ran out of the room, and subsequently the building, in almost the blink of an eye.

Once they were gone, Brendan and May both ran and hugged their newly evolved Pokémon, congratulating them for evolving and for winning the battle. They had just recalled their Pokémon when a man in a lab coat and two men behind him, both wearing light sweaters and khaki pants, stepped forward. The lab coat man was clearly in charge, and he was the one who spoke first. "Thank you two for coming along when you did," he said. "I thought we were about to lose all the data we had worked so hard to find over the years."

Brendan just waved it off. "We've dealt with those guys before. It was no problem," Brendan said.

"Yeah, it's actually become more of a hobby to us at this point," May said with a laugh.

"Well, regardless, I think we need to thank you in some way," the man said.

Brendan thought for a moment. "Well, you don't need to give us a reward, but it would be helpful if you let us see the information Team Aqua was after."

The man thought for a moment, looking to his two subordinates. "Sure, the laptop still has a lot of battery life and the files are on it, as well as on that hard drive. However, you should know that there are a lot of files to sort through."

May nodded. "Then we may be staying here for the night," she said.

"We do have very nice living quarters in the basement," one of the sweater men said. "They all have bathrooms, a desktop computer with a video phone, and a couple beds which are quite luxurious."

"Sounds good," Brendan said. When he said that, the lights flickered back on.

"Ah, finally, the back-up generators have started to work! We don't know why, but they're always so slow," the other sweater man said. "How about I escort you to your rooms for the night, you may bring the laptop and hard drive with you so you can do your research as long as you wish."

"Sure, but we may need something hot to drink when we're down there," Brendan said, starting to feel a chill seep into his bones after he had been soaked by Shelly's Swampert.

"I completely agree!" May said, starting to shiver as well. The three men who had been the hostages of Team Aqua laughed slightly before taking the trio downstairs, Gwen carrying the laptop to the basement so it wouldn't get any water in its circuits.

After Brendan and May had showered, they got situated. Brendan sat with the laptop, which was now hooked up to a charger, and May went to the desktop with the hard drive. They both opened the folders and began to read. The first was full of simple accounts of odd weather occurrences across Hoenn throughout history. It didn't seem to contain much important information other than locations of the phenomena. The next folder contained some more disturbing information. It had files on how two Pokémon shaped the landmass and the oceans of the entire world during a single, brutal clash. The names of the two Pokémon, or where they came from was marked as unknown.

That was when Brendan went to the third folder. "Oh no," Brendan said breathlessly. His clear loss for words caught both May's and Gwen's attention.

"What is it?" May asked, getting up and coming to Brendan's side. When she read what the page said, she blanched and staggered back. "Those two teams aren't just going to try reshaping the world. If they succeed, they might wipe out all life on Earth." Gwen then read what was on the screen. What she saw scared her just as much as it had May and Brendan.

The document on screen was very clear and concise with its information. It had the names of the two Pokémon, something that Brendan and May both remembered Steven saying in Granite Cave when they first met him: the leviathan Pokémon, Kyogre, and the behemoth Pokémon, Groudon. It said that the two Pokémon had been slumbering for millennia, giving a detailed map of Hoenn that showed where they were sleeping. But the most terrifying piece of information was that there still was a way to revitalize the super ancient Pokémon. And the way to do that was sitting on Mt. Pyre, where Team Aqua said they were going next. They were simply named the Blue Orb and the Red Orb.

 _Arceus help us._ That was all Gwen could say as she walked over to her bed, holding her head with both hands. _What can we possibly do?_

 **Thank you all for reading, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, please leave a review and tell me what you think, but please keep it constructive.**

 **Before I get asked:**

 **\- No, Gary is not a reference to Ash's rival.**

 **\- Gwen was referencing Revenge of the Sith, for those of you who don't know.**

 **\- I know only Shelly was supposed to be at the Institute, but having Matt there too just seemed more appropriate, and I felt like it added a little comedic value.**

 **That's all for now. Until next time – jmoul18.**


	32. The Power of the Heart

_The Power of the Heart_

That night, none of them slept. The fear of what Team Magma and Team Aqua were trying to do was just too much to sleep on. When morning came, all three were exhausted, but they knew they had to get moving for the day. May just groaned as she got out of bed and out from under Brendan's arm that had been around her waist. "I am going to need a full pot of coffee to just function today," she said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah, me too," Brendan said. "I still can't wrap my head around what Team Magma and Team Aqua are plotting."

 _Well, we definitely need to get much stronger,_ Gwen said. _If we don't, then the entire Hoenn region could be wiped off the face of the earth._

"I know," May said. "Luckily, the only two left on the team to fully evolve are Nikki and Erza, and neither of them are too far off from that."

"Right, but still, no matter how strong we are, I doubt we will be able to do that much to Kyogre or Groudon," Brendan said.

"What do you mean? They may be legendary, but they're still Pokémon," May said, but Brendan's look of concern told her that he knew she didn't really believe that.

"Those two Pokémon literally formed the world. They're too powerful to be considered normal Pokémon," he said.

 _Well, we won't get anywhere just talking about it like this._ Gwen said. _We might as well continue our traveling as usual. Besides, those two organizations are so full of idiots, I wouldn't be surprised if they screw it up._

Brendan smiled. "Good point," he said as he got out of bed. "I'm going to go get a quick shower to start getting ready to travel."

It was only an hour later that Brendan, May, and Gwen were all outside the Weather Institute, thanking Arceus that the storm was done for now. They had just finished crossing the bridge to the right of the building when Brendan suddenly stopped, getting an idea.

"Hey, May!" he called. May turned back to him, a curious look in her eye. "We haven't battled each other in a while. What do you say to having a battle now?"

May thought for a moment. "How about a best of three rounds?"

Brendan liked the idea. "Sounds good," he said. "Let's save Avery and Drake for the last round."

"Agreed," May said as she pulled out her first Pokéball. "Let's start with the Pokémon we first battled with. Come on out, Miranda!" She threw her Pokéball, sending out the Blaziken.

"Clint, you're up!" Brendan said as he threw his Pokéball and released his Sceptile. "You can have the first attack!"

 _As much as I enjoy battling, I would rather just watch this one,_ Gwen said. Brendan nodded with a slight smile. He understood that Gwen didn't want to battle against May. They were too close after all.

May smiled. "Miranda, use Blaze Kick!"

"Dodge and use Dual Chop!" Brendan said. As Miranda spun with her foot flaming, Clint ducked under the attack, his leaves glowing purple as he swiped with both arms to hit the fire hawk. Miranda however, was too strong to be defeated so easily.

"One more Blaze Kick!" May said. Miranda whipped around once more, striking with a flaming right reverse roundhouse. Clint brought his arms up to block the kick, although he was pushed to the side by the immense force of the attack.

"Use Leaf Blade!" Brendan said. Clint's arms lit up with green energy as he threw Miranda backward before leaping forward, slashing across her chest. The attack didn't do much damage, but it got Clint some more distance. "Now it's time for something we haven't used in a while, Dragonbreath!" Clint inhaled before letting out a stream of purple, electrically charged energy. The attack hit its mark, pushing Miranda even farther.

"Miranda, use Flame Charge!" May said. Miranda sprinted forward, her body becoming coated in fire as she ran at Clint. She gradually got faster as she ran.

"Clint, use Dual Chop once more!" Brendan said. Clint followed Brendan's order and swung the now purple leaves at Miranda. The two Pokémon collided and fought for dominance. It seemed, however, that the fire-type would win this round. Clint was thrown back and he fell to the ground hard, passing out.

"Nice job Miranda!" May said. "Now, return and get some rest."

Brendan smirked. "You fought well Clint, you return as well and rest up," he said as he had the Forest Pokémon return.

 _May is up, 1-0,_ Gwen said.

"It's time for the second round!" Brendan said. "Come on out, Nikki!" He threw the sloth Pokémon's Pokéball into the air and let her out.

"Then I'll choose Lily!" May said as she sent out her Beautifly.

"Nikki, use Retaliate!" Brendan said, using the attack that his father had given to him. Nikki leapt into the air and swung her right arm at Lily

"Lily, dodge and use Giga Drain!" May said. Lily fluttered to the side as the sloth flew by, and ensnared her in multiple tendrils of green energy. Nikki just flipped her body around backhanded Lily, sending the butterfly backwards. "Alright, use Stun Spore!"

"You sure you want to do that May?" Brendan asked.

May smirked. "Definitely," she said as Lily began to dust Nikki with yellow powder that seemed to be conducting electricity. Nikki, having figured out Brendan's plan, let the powder cover her, ignoring the suddenly tensing muscles through her body. Instead, she focused her mind, fully trusting her trainer.

"Now, Façade!" Brendan said. Nikki leapt into the air, her arms raised once again. When she got to the peak of her jump, however, she began to glow white. Brendan shook his head with a chuckle. He should've guessed that Nikki would evolve, like all the rest of his team now. The Pokémon nearly doubled in size, gaining two feet in height, and nearly two hundred pounds almost purely of muscle. Her form then changed to be almost exactly the same as Norman's Slaking. "Alright, great job Nikki!" Brendan said. "Now, finish it!" Nikki put her hands, which were now more like a human's but much larger, together, and took on a yellow aura, before hitting Lily over her head and sending the butterfly into the ground faster than a bullet. The impact left little doubt that Lily had lost.

"Lily, return and get some rest!" May said as she held out her Pokéball. "Well, that's 1-1."

Brendan recalled Nikki with a smile. "Yeah, now it's time to see who has the stronger Eon Pokémon. Go Avery!" Brendan said as he let out his Latias. Instead of coming out ready to battle, Avery flew back to her trainer and began to nuzzle him affectionately. "Hey Avery, I'm glad to see you too," Brendan said with a laugh. "But we're about to have a friendly battle with your brother. Are you up to it?" Avery gave a cheerful chirping coo.

"Drake, come on out!" May said. The Latios appeared with determined expression. It was clear that, of the two Eon Pokémon, Drake was the more serious and more focused.

"Avery, use Dragonbreath," Brendan said. Avery reared back and let loose a stream of purple energy, much like Clint's Dragonbreath, but it was fired with greater force.

"Drake, dodge and respond with Luster Purge!" May said. Drake simply rolled to the side as the energy passed by. His entire body then began to glow with a silver light as he unleashed energy, hitting Avery hard. The red Eon Pokémon was surrounded by a purple aura for a few seconds, indicating a drop in her special defensive abilities.

"Avery, respond with Mist Ball!" Brendan said. The Latias closed her eyes as a large orb of fog gathered in front of her before it became a semi-solid mass. She fired it at Drake, hitting him in the chest. His body was surrounded by a purple aura as well, indicating a loss of special attacking capabilities.

"Fine, Dragonbreath!" May said. Drake let loose a stream of the same electrical purple energy. Avery tried to dodge, but it seemed her brother had more speed and offensive power than she did. She was hit by the attack and electricity coursed through her body.

"It's okay Avery, use Psycho Shift!" Brendan said. Avery concentrated as the electricity running through her was pulled out and gathered into one spot in front of her. She then sent it toward Drake. Her brother, however, simply drifted to the side and dodged it effortlessly.

"One more Dragonbreath!" May said. Drake fired another stream of purple energy at Avery. His sister took the impact and fell to the ground.

 _That's it. Avery is unable to battle,_ Gwen said. _May is the victor!_

Brendan's eyes went wide. He had just been handed his first loss by none other than May. His girlfriend had beaten him. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I guess it's better that it was her," he said. He then walked up to Avery, who was giving him an apologetic look, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Hey, you did really well. Don't get sad about it, because you and I will keep getting stronger together." Avery perked up and began to nuzzle Brendan once more, cooing and trilling slightly, although she still had a slightly sad tone to her voice. Brendan just smiled as he pet the dragon's neck gently, earning a happy cooing from the Pokémon.

 _Well, seems you're not the one wearing the pants in your relationship,_ Gwen said in a teasing tone. Brendan just shook his head and recalled a now smiling Avery.

May on the other hand was laughing and cheering, hugging Drake in celebration. "WE DID IT! WE WON!" she said. "I can't believe we beat Brendan!"

Brendan just shook his head in slight disbelief. "Yeah, well don't get used to it," he said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Next time we battle, I promise things will be different." His voice had gained a competitive edge.

"Don't count on it!" May said in a much more confident voice. Brendan just shook his head as he walked over to May.

"Fine, you've earned this," he said as he pulled her close a kissed her passionately. May didn't resist, although a bit surprised at first, she simply relaxed and practically melted from the sensation.

 _I really do love you Brendan,_ she thought. Gwen, who was still watching and listening to their conversation, simply smiled.

 _You two are adorable together,_ Gwen said to herself. May broke the kiss to recall Drake, and then she led the way to Fortree City. They were heading toward Brendan's sixth gym battle, and to the next stop in their adventure.

They walked for another hour, winning a tag battle along the way, before finally arriving at the Fortree Pokémon Center and getting their Pokémon revitalized. It seemed, however, that they would get an unexpected surprise that day when Brendan's PokeNav received a message.

"Huh," he said as he read the message. "Hey May, Gwen, Steven just sent me a message asking us to meet him on the bridge near Fortree on Route 120. He said he wants to give us something."

 _Well, I'd say it's definitely worth it to see what he's talking about,_ Gwen said.

"You know, I completely agree," May said. "Let's go!" she ran out of the Pokémon Center with Brendan in tow, and they ran to the first ladder into the tree houses that filled the town. They ran over the bridges, which seemed to serve as roads for the town, and went east. In a few minutes, they had not only reached Route 120, but they could see Steven standing on the bridge to the south, and he had a pretty large box at his feet.

Once they all made their way through the very tall grass, Brendan led the way onto the bridge toward the steel-haired trainer. "Steven!" he called out, waving to get the man's attention. Steven smiled and waved back.

"It's good to see you three again!" he said when they got to him. "I assume you got my message, so I will just get right into this." He reached into the box and pulled out two, thick bracelets, each with a keystone in it. "After seeing how you two fought on the Southern Isle, I felt like you're both ready to test your bonds with your Pokémon, and possibly take them even further." He handed both Brendan and May a bracelet. "Put those on your wrists before we go any further."

Brendan found a clasp on the side that opened the bracelet. He clipped it on and found that it fit perfectly. May's bracelet fit just as well. "Alright, what's next?" Brendan said.

"Send out Avery, Drake, Clint and Miranda. And Gwen, please step forward," Steven said. Brendan and May both did as told, and Gwen stepped in front of Brendan to stand between the Blaziken and Sceptile. Steven didn't seem surprised to see the newly evolved fire and grass Pokémon. Avery once again began to nuzzle Brendan even more happily than earlier today.

"Okay Avery, take it easy," Brendan said with a laugh as he pet the Eon Pokémon's neck. Steven chuckled.

"Now, Brendan and May, do you two still have the Latiasite and Latiosite stones?" Steven said, chuckling slightly at Avery's behavior. Both trainers nodded as they pulled the stones from their bags and held them out. Steven then pulled two large, but light metal necklaces. They were made of metal plates that seemed to be made for the Eon Pokémon. At the center of the first plate was a niche for the mega stone. "Put the stones in the niche, then put the necklace on your Pokémon." Brendan took the Latiasite and placed it inside the niche. When it was in place, a multi-edged clamp closed around the sides of the stone, effectively locking it in place. May's necklace did the same thing when she placed the Latiosite inside. They both placed the necklaces on the Eon Pokémon, and the stones pulsed with light once.

"What's that mean?" Brendan asked.

"That's a sign that your hearts are in sync, thus Mega Evolution is possible," Steven said as he reached into the box. "But, I have other items to give you two." He stood up with two wrist bands that looked almost like bracers, one a bit wider in diameter than the other which had two slits beside the stone, and the other item looked like a silver choker necklace. All three had mega stones on them. One looked exactly like the one Diantha's Gardevoir had been wearing. One of the two others was green with an orange, red, and green swirling streak, while the other was a cream color with a red, orange, and black swirling streak.

"I'm guessing the green one is for Clint, the tan one is for Miranda, and the white one is for Gwen," May said.

"Very observant of you," Steven said, handing the band with the Blazikenite to May, while giving the other two to Brendan. When May placed the bracer on Miranda's right wrist, the stone pulsed, this one a bit brighter than the one on Drake's collar. "As I expected," Steven said.

"What do you mean?" May asked, a bit intrigued.

"Since you've only just met Drake a couple of days ago, even though you already have a strong bond, your connection to Miranda is stronger," Steven said as Brendan got Clint situated with the band and Sceptilite. The stone, as expected, pulsed just as brightly as Miranda's stone.

"Alright, now I think I know just how this will turn out," Brendan said as he unclasped the choker necklace. "Shall I?" he asked Gwen.

Gwen smiled sweetly. _Of course,_ she said happily. Brendan reached around her neck, clasping the necklace behind her, and it fit perfectly. Once he had fastened the necklace, however, he was almost blinded by the impossibly bright pulse of light that came from the stone.

Steven's eyes went wide in surprise. "Wow, that's one of the brightest pulses I've ever seen from a Mega Stone," he said in bewilderment. "The only time a mega stone reacts that strongly is when the trainer and Pokémon are almost completely in-sync."

"Hmm," Brendan said. "Well, if we have as strong of a bond as you say, then I want to test it."

May looked at him with an intrigued expression as she recalled both Miranda and Drake. "What are you thinking?" she asked. _Don't do anything stupid, Brendan._

Brendan had both Clint and Avery return to their Pokéballs. "Well, Steven, you're wearing that keystone on your stickpin," he said.

Steven raised an eyebrow with an intrigued expression. "Are you suggesting a battle against me?" his tone suggesting that he didn't think it was a good idea.

"Of course," Brendan said.

 _Brendan, you'd better know what you're doing,_ Gwen said, running two fingers over the Gardevoirite around her neck like a newly-wed playing with her ring.

"Fine, I will accept your challenge," Steven said. "But let's get off this bridge first. I don't want to destroy it."

Brendan nodded. "I'm okay with that," he said as he began to walk back toward the eastern side of the bridge.

When they were on the eastern edge and they were positioned properly, Steven sent out his Pokémon. "Come on out Maxwell!" The Pokémon that came out was unlike anything Brendan had ever seen. It was made of a metal with a blue tint. It had one main body that looked like a flying saucer with two red mechanical eyes and a silver X across its face. It stood on four legs that extended from its sides, one of which had a bracer, like Clint's and Miranda's, with a blue crystal with a gold and white streak through the center. On top of that, the Pokémon was massive standing taller than Gwen, weighing at least half a ton. "Now, Brendan, are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this? I will grant you your request for a battle if you are, but I would rather not put you through this."

Brendan looked serious. "Gwen and I have never lost a battle together. I don't intend to start now."

Steven closed his eyes. "Very well then. First, do you know how to activate mega evolutions?"

"Yes, I had to battle the leader of Team Magma who used a Mega Camerupt. I think I know what to do," Brendan said. He brought his bracelet close to his other hand, making contact. "Alright Gwen, let our hearts unite to bring us victory in this fight. MEGA EVOLVE!" Multiple tendrils of energy began to reach from Brendan's keystone and Gwen's Gardevoirite and they were soon connecting.

 _I feel tingly!_ Gwen said as her body began to glow with all the colors of the rainbow as her Gardevoirite merged with her body, and her form began to change. Her chest spike split into two, and her dress puffed out, looking almost like a wedding gown. Both of her forearms gained a slight protrusion that made it look like she was wearing white gloves. _Hey Brendan, you know how strong my Psychic attack was when we beat Maxie?_

 _Yeah, what about it?_ Brendan replied.

 _This form feels stronger than that,_ Gwen said in awe as the glowing ceased and her new form appeared. A minor change that wasn't evident while she was glowing was that her hair had grown longer and had curled under her three-pointed ears.

"Well, it seems you were successful with your first mega evolution," Steven said. "But now it's our turn. Maxwell, Mega Evolve!" The same reaction took place, the tendrils connecting and Metagross beginning to glow multiple colors. Maxwell's four legs moved until they were facing forward and they grew significantly and the claws on the bottom changed to look almost like combs made up of swords. From his back sprouted four smaller legs. Finally, he began to levitate off the ground. When the glowing ceased, Maxwell's metal X had turned golden. It now looked like it weighed over a ton. "Alright Brendan, I will give you the first move.

 _Alright, Gwen use Calm Mind, then use Hyper Voice!_ Brendan said. Gwen relaxed and was surrounded by a green aura, her special abilities rising. But when Gwen shouted loudly, the metal Pokémon moved blindingly fast to get out of the way and into the air. Brendan's eyes went wide with the realization that he should've taken the out Steven had given him.

"Maxwell, finish this with Meteor Mash," Steven said. Maxwell brought his legs together, forming what looked like the head of a hammer and his front claws began to glow. He then began to fly at Gwen, spiraling as he approached.

 _Teleport!_ Brendan said. But it was too late, Maxwell was already there. The attack struck hard, sending Gwen flying backwards and into a nearby tree. She reverted to her normal form and passed out. "No, GWEN!" he said as he ran to her side. "Are you alright?"

Gwen's eyes fluttered open. _Y-yeah, but do me a favor,_ she said with a pained tone of voice. _Don't you dare challenge anybody that much stronger than us again!_

Brendan nodded. "I promise I won't make that mistake again. I also promise that we won't lose again."

 _Thanks Goldenrod, now please help me stand up,_ she said. Brendan had her put her arm around his shoulder and he helped to lift her off the ground. He then walked back to the battlefield, a look of humility on his face. When he got there, Maxwell had already been recalled. "I guess I still have a lot to learn," he said.

"We all do," Steven said. "But it's good that you're able to accept it. Just remember this: there will always be somebody better than you at something. Don't be too eager to make challenges in the future. But you should be proud. You and Gwen have already pulled off that which only a select few trainers know of, and even fewer have ever achieved."

Brendan nodded. "Thanks, I'll remember that, and I promise things will be different next time we have a battle."

Steven smiled and nodded. "Knowing you, I am definitely counting on it." He then looked at his watch. "Oh my, I've got an appointment in Mossdeep City. Anyway, I will be seeing you two later." With that, he sent out a Skarmory that looked like it had seen a lot of battles. He hopped onto its back and the steel bird took off, flying to the east.

That was when May spoke up. "Hey, are you two okay?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Brendan asked.

"Well, like you said before the battle, you and Gwen haven't lost a battle together until today," she said.

Brendan realized what she meant. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, but we should get Gwen to a Pokémon Center as soon as possible."

Despite his words, May could easily tell he wasn't fine, but she decided that an argument wasn't worth it at the moment. "Alright, let's go." The three of them walked back to the Fortree Pokémon Center in relative silence.

Brendan's confidence had been shaken to its core. He and Gwen had just been beaten in one attack without even doing the slightest bit of damage to their opponent. Not only that, but this was his second loss ever, and it hadn't even been a day since his first. _I just hope I can get myself stronger so this never happens again_ , he thought _._ Gwen, who had been silently listening to her trainer's thoughts, smiled. She already knew that Brendan wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

 _It's alright Brendan. I've already forgiven you,_ she said to him alone. That seemed to put him more at ease. He would need it for tomorrow's gym battle, after all.

 **And that's a chapter. Thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave a review letting me know where I can improve my writing, it would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Next chapter is Brendan's battle with Winona.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	33. Overcoming Defeat

_Overcoming Defeat_

The next morning, Brendan's attitude hadn't improved. His confidence was still shaken, and he wasn't sure how it would affect his gym battle later today. Like with the battle against Norman, Brendan had barely gotten any sleep the night before. Gwen, even though she had been able to sense his troubled mind, had decided to let him mull it over while she slept. She thought that it would be better for him to sort this one out by himself. Now, however, she saw that it may not have been the best choice. He now doubted himself as a trainer. He even had May worried.

At the moment, Brendan was sitting on a bench outside the Pokémon Center. He was so doubtful of himself that he felt like he was going insane. "I can't believe I was so stupid," Brendan said. "Why was I so eager to battle Steven? I knew that he was stronger than me, so why did I make that choice?"

May saw this, unsure of what to say or do. She wanted to help but she was unsure what she could actually do to help her. She had a few ideas, but she was worried that she'd just make things worse for him.

 _Is he still having trouble?_ Gwen asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, he is, but I don't know what to do about it," May said with a regretful tone.

 _Maybe we just need to get him into a battle, and he'll feel better,_ Gwen said, knowing her trainer quite well. _Let's get him to the Fortree Gym._

"Are you sure a gym battle will really help that much? It may make things worse," May said.

 _I know, but it's the only thing I can think of that could get him back to his normal self,_ Gwen said.

May nodded before moving toward the bench. "Hey, Brendan, are you ready for your gym battle?" she said gently. Brendan, however, simply gave an unintelligible grunt in response, standing up and he began to head west toward the ladders, barely waiting for May and Gwen.

"Oh boy," May said quietly.

 _Let's go,_ Gwen said. _I think that he may need something more forceful if he doesn't get better._

"Agreed," May said. They all climbed the ladder to the east and moved two platforms to the east. They all climbed down the ladder to the ground, moving toward the gym. Luckily no unseen objects or Pokémon blocked their way to the building, and they entered without any trouble.

The gym was unlike any they had seen before. The ceiling was completely open, telling May that this was a flying-type gym. Whether Brendan realized this was unclear. "Hello there visitors!" said a woman with a very soothing voice. "I am Winona, the leader of the Fortree City Gym." She had long silver hair, but it was mostly held under an aviator's helmet. She also wore a form-fitting flight suit. Even May had to admit that Winona was stunningly beautiful, but when she looked at Brendan, he wasn't even paying attention to his next opponent.

He looked up. "I challenge you to a gym battle," he said with little enthusiasm.

Winona looked at him with a surprised expression. "That has to be the least enthusiastic challenge I've ever received," she said with a slight chuckle. "But as a gym leader, I can't say no. My battles are four-on-four. Are you up to the challenge?"

Brendan simply nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready," he said.

 _Brendan you'd better focus up,_ Gwen thought. _Or you'll lose this battle too._

"Alright, take your position and we will begin the battle," Winona said.

Brendan walked to the challenger's box and took his position. "Alright, let's start," he said. Winona, still not sure what was going on with this challenger, pulled a remote for the new referee system that Wattson had installed in every gym across the region.

"Challenger, are you ready? You'd better be, because I choose Hannah!" Winona said. Brendan thought for a moment when he saw the Swellow, a large black and red bird with two sharp tails.

"I choose Turk," Brendan said, sending out the crustacean Pokémon.

"Hannah, use Aerial Ace!" Winona said. The Swellow flew into the air, looping around as a glowing current of air spiraled around her body.

Brendan, who still doubted himself, hesitated. "Turk, use Aqua Jet." The Crawdaunt tried to do as told, but he wasn't fast enough as the Swellow drilled into him, sending him skidding. It did damage, but it thankfully wasn't a lot.

"Another time, Aerial Ace!" Winona called. This time, Brendan didn't even react, he just seemed to be in a daze. Turk took the hit again, this time taking slightly more damage before turning to his trainer, a look of concern

That was when Gwen decided she'd had enough. _DAMN IT BRENDAN SNAP OUT OF IT!_ She slapped him across the face, earning a shocked look from her trainer. _You lost to Steven, and I get that it was the first time you and I lost while battling together. But it was an honest mistake. Stop doubting yourself and battle like you used to! Or do our battles together and my mega evolution mean nothing to you now?_

Brendan was shocked at how angry Gwen was, but he knew she was right. Had she let him continue on that spiral, he would have let his Pokémon down. He nodded, closing his eyes. "You're right, it wouldn't be fair to any of you if I were to give up after two losses," he said as he turned to face Winona again, the fire in his eyes reignited. "I'm sorry I wasn't fully here when this battle began. My mind wasn't in the right place. But now, I can show you what I can really do," Brendan said. "Turk, use Razor Shell!" Both of Turk's claws began to glow a light blue color as they sharpened. He leapt across the field at Hannah, ready to attack.

"I see that you've got a fire in your eyes now, alright it's time to see what young Mr. Maple can really do," Winona said. "Hannah, fly up and dodge it!" As Turk closed in, Hannah flapped her wings and got above Turk.

"Turk, go after her with Aqua Jet!" Brendan commanded. Turk leapt into the air, surrounded by a torrent of water as his claws still glowing with the Razor Shell attack. Gwen smiled as Hannah's health bar dropped by half.

 _It seems I got you back to yourself,_ she said.

"Brave Bird!" Hannah surrounded herself with blue fire as she dove at Turk, sending him flying, but she felt the pain of recoil from such a strong hit. "Now Aerial Ace!" Hannah flew underneath Turk and hit his underbelly hard. Turk flew into the air before falling back to the ground. The buzzer sounded indicating a knock out.

"Turk return," Brendan recalled his Pokémon. "I'm sorry Turk. I promise, I won't let anything like that happen again." He then pulled out his next Pokéball. "Let's go Nikki!" The Slaking appeared, lying on her side, seemingly asleep.

"Uh oh," Winona said. She had seen the battle between Brendan and Norman, and she knew that Norman had given his son Retaliate.

"Nikki, use Retaliate," Brendan said. Nikki got up and she leapt through the air and hit Hannah hard, sending her into the ground, and making a crater from the impact, as the buzzer rang again. It was a knock out.

"Hannah, return and rest," Winona said. "That was well thought out, but you're nowhere near done. Go, Lois!" she said as she sent out her next Pokémon. What came out was a Pokémon much like Graham: a Pelipper. Thankfully Nikki had her time to recover before Winona issued her next command. "Use Water Pulse." Lois fired three rings of water at Nikki.

"Nikki, dodge that and use Slash!" Brendan said. Nikki leapt to the side as those rings flew by, and then toward Lois, her clawed fingers glowing white.

"Lois, Stockpile," Winona said. Lois started to inhale, energy gathering in her beak. Nikki hit the Pelipper hard, sending her tumbling back, her health bar dropping swiftly to less than half. "Once more!" Lois gathered more energy in her beak. "Now Swallow!" Lois lifted her beak to the sky as she swallowed the energy, her health bar increasing to about three-quarters.

"Damn, she can heal herself," Brendan said. "We'll just have to beat her before she can do it again." Nikki looked back and nodded to Brendan confidently.

"Lois, use Water Pulse!" Winona called. Lois fired three rings of water at the sloth ape

"Nikki, dodge then use Slash" Nikki rolled to the side and ran at Lois, slashing the Pelipper across the face, and dropping her health bar to zero. The buzzer sounds, indicating a knock out.

"Well, you've turned it around, but you're not done yet, go Jim!" The Gym Leader sends out a Skarmory, who shrieked loudly and defiantly.

"Nikki, start with Brick Break," Brendan said. Nikki leapt at the Skarmory, but Winona would not let that go easily.

"Jim, Steel Wing!" Jim's wings begin to glow white as he flew at Nikki. Nikki hit the steel bird hard, but Jim's wing hit first, and harder, sending her into the ground, and her health bar dropped to a sliver.

"Nikki, use Façade," Brendan said. Nikki leapt at the Skarmory again, her hands glowing yellow.

"Air Cutter!" Winona said calmly. Three cyclones of air flew at Nikki, and turned into blades as they connected with her, throwing her back into the ground and knocked her out of the fight. The buzzer sounded and Brendan recalled Nikki.

"You did well Nikki, now rest up," Brendan said before throwing his next Pokéball. "Let's go Jack!" The Camerupt came out of his Pokéball and immediately spat a small tongue of flame.

"Jim, use Aerial Ace!" The Skarmory swoops down, a white spiraling streak surrounding the steel-type.

"Lava Plume!" Brendan called. Jack's volcanic humps exploded and made lava rain down on Jim, stopping his attack and dealing severe damage, dropping the bird's health to below the three-quarters mark. "Great job Jack, now use Rock Slide!" Jack's back fired off multiple rocks that fell back to earth, hitting the armored bird hard, and finishing the rest of his health. The buzzer sounded, and Winona recalled her Pokémon.

"Only two more rounds maximum, but my Pokémon will win this round easily. Go, Fiona!" Winona said as she sent out an Altaria. This one, however, had a mega stone on a necklace around her neck.

"Shit," Brendan muttered under his breath as Winona activated Fiona's mega evolution. The Dragon-type's cloud wings puffed up like popcorn as it covered most of her body and shifted to a more pink color.

 _Brendan, Altaria is a fairy type now, be careful,_ Gwen said.

 _Thanks for the heads up, Gwen,_ Brendan said with a nod. "Jack, Rock Slide!" Jack fired multiple rocks from his back, which flew at Fiona.

"Protect, then use Dragon Pulse," Winona said. Fiona smirked as she was surrounded in a green aura and the incoming rocks merely broke on contact. When the shield dropped, a single massive beam of green energy flew at Jack, who took the full force of the attack, and his health bar dropping to nearly half.

"Damn it," Brendan said under his breath. "Jack, use Iron Head!" Jack lowered his head and began to charge at Fiona, but Winona would have none of it.

"Fiona, dodge and use Dragon Dance," Fiona flew into the air, effortlessly dodging the Camerupt, and became surrounded in a black and red aura as her speed and physical strength increased. "Now, Earthquake." Fiona dropped to the ground like a rock, hitting hard and sending a massive shockwave out. The attack hit Jack hard, nearly burying him with earth. Jack's health bar dropped to zero and Brendan withdrew him.

"Jack, thanks, I promise you I won't lose this," Brendan looked to Gwen.

 _We going mega this time?_ She asked.

 _I think we'll have to,_ Brendan replied as he touched his keystone. "Now, Gwen, Mega-Evolve!" Gwen's Gardevoirite began to glow and multiple tendrils of light extended from both stones, linking and causing Gwen to transform into her mega form.

"So, a battle of mega forms," Winona said. "Fiona, use Brave Bird!"

 _Gwen, use Double Team, then Hyper Voice!_ Gwen created multiple copies of herself before screaming, sending a massive wave of sound at the dragon bird. Fiona, who was flying directly at Gwen while she was coated in blue flames, couldn't dodge in time. She was hit with the attack and was sent flying back across the field, her health dropping below half.

"Fiona, use Aerial Ace!" Winona said. Fiona leapt at the real Gwen, hitting her perfectly, and sending Gwen sprawling, and dropping her health fast, getting below three-quarters.

 _Gwen, use Psychic to hold Fiona in place while you use Calm Mind,_ Brendan said. Gwen became surrounded with a green aura as Fiona was gripped tightly with a light blue aura. _Now, Hyper Voice!_

"Fiona, use Hyper Voice!" Winona said. Both Gwen and Fiona shrieked at the same time, their attacks close in intensity, but with her Calm Mind, Gwen's attack won out, hitting with less force than earlier due to the reduction effect. However, it was still enough to deplete Fiona's health and win the battle. Brendan couldn't contain his excitement, cheering as he ran onto the field and hugged Gwen, who reverted to her normal form. May simply smiled. Her Brendan was back.

* * *

Far away, in the Magma Hideout under the Jagged Pass, Maxie was standing over a pit of magma, looking at the massive stone behemoth of a Pokémon. It was the petrified Groudon. "Soon, Groudon, you will awaken," he said, the red orb in his hand.

Tabitha knocked on the door. "Sir, Team Aqua has arrived on Mt. Pyre, they're about to retrieve the Blue Orb."

Maxie looked unfazed. "It is of no concern. We can savor our victory now."

"And those two teenagers?"

"We needn't concern ourselves with them unless they interfere with us. If they do, kill them immediately," he said. "We are too close to have them ruining our plans."

Tabitha nods. "As you command." He left without another word. Once he was gone, Maxie set the orb on his desk and reclined, relaxing.

"I've won, Archie. I always was the smarter brother," he said.

 **Sorry this one took so long, been busy and I've been working on my novel.** **Next Chapter is Mt. Pyre.**

 **As always, please review and be constructive.**

 **Until next time - jmoul18**


	34. The Pokemon Burial Ground

_The Pokémon Burial Ground_

It was later in the afternoon the next day when Brendan and May got to Route 121, and to the south was Route 122. "So, to the south of here is Mount Pyre, right?" Brendan asked.

"Yep, that's the burial site of all Pokémon in Hoenn. Sort of like Lavender Town in Kanto," May said. "My mother's Delcatty is buried there."

"Well, would you like to go visit her grave?" Brendan asked.

"Sure, that would mean a lot to me," May said happily.

Gwen, however, seemed to be a bit distracted. "Gwen? Something wrong?"

 _No, just thought I sensed something familiar in the distance,_ she said.

"Alright, well, did you hear us say we're heading to Mt. Pyre?" May asked.

 _Yep, why don't you two lead the way?_ Gwen said as they got to a dock with a Pokémon nurse sitting around. She waved, but didn't speak other than that.

What caught Brendan's attention most, however, was the group of Team Aqua grunts that could be seen on the sides of the mountain. "Shit…them again," he said. "Gwen, can you get us to the entrance of Mt. Pyre?"

 _Yeah, no problem,_ she put her hands on their backs and they teleported to the main entrance. _Let's go stop those idiots_.

"Agreed," May said as she pulls out Miranda's Pokéball. They all entered the grave yard, seeing a few mourners at graves, but no members of Team Aqua could be seen inside. "It looks like we need to catch up a bit before we can beat those clowns again."

 _Then let's go faster,_ Gwen said with a smirk. Brendan just led the way. The three of them walked quickly, ignoring the other people in the mountain and avoiding the wild ghost Pokémon that roamed the graveyard. They made it to the top floor of the graveyard and exited into open air where they saw a few Pokémon roaming around in the grass. While they were intrigued by the Vulpix, Chimecho, and the occasional Shuppet and Duskull, Brendan and May just kept moving until a thick fog began to roll in. Gwen led them up a flight of stairs and that was when they saw the four members of Team Aqua, with Archie harassing an elderly couple, trying to take what appeared to be a large sapphire from the woman's hand.

 _Arceus damn it all!_ Gwen said as the grunts noticed Brendan and May. They sent out two Carvahna, a Golbat, and a Mightyena.

"Gwen, just use Hyper Voice, we can't waste time here!" Gwen shrieked, sending the sonic wave out and beating the four Pokémon easily. "Nice work!" Gwen smiled as May sent out Miranda. The Grunts all sent more Pokémon out, not wanting to give up.

"You two stop Archie. I'll keep these four busy," May said.

 _Alright, be careful,_ Gwen said. May smiled at her and Brendan.

"Of course, I'm not a pushover like these four," she said.

"Hey, do you mind? We're still standing here!" a Grunt said with an offended tone. Brendan chuckled slightly, but stopped when he heard Archie cackling. He turned and saw that the leader of Team Aqua had hit the elderly man over the head, and kneed the woman in the stomach.

"Archie!" Brendan said, getting the man's attention. "What the actual fuck? First you have your grunts try to rob Devon Corporation, then Captain Stern, and now you're beating up the elderly to get some stupid rock?"

"Oh, it's the annoying little scamp," he said too confidently for Brendan's tastes. "Well, seems that you don't know anything at all really. Take a good look at this 'stupid rock.'" He held up the gem and Brendan saw what appeared to be a lower case alpha in the center. He thought back to what he and May had read at the Weather Institute, and it didn't take him long to realize what the stone was.

"That's the Blue Orb, isn't it?" he asked.

"Aye, it is. This is how we will achieve our ultimate goal. Now, it's time for a new, perfect world to be created," he said.

"You mean by using Kyogre, the leviathan Pokémon that formed the seas? You actually believe that you can control something like that?" Brendan asked.

"I don't expect a teenager to understand my lifelong ambitions," Archie said with a scoff. Brendan, however, was looking at the elderly couple who were still struggling to get up. As much as he wanted to stop Archie, he knew that a Pokémon battle would put those two in harm's way. That was a risk he was not about to take, and Archie saw that in his eyes. "Team Aqua, we're moving out!" Team Aqua recalled all their Pokémon as a blue helicopter appeared overhead, dropping two rope ladders for them to climb, and they did so like sailors climbing the mast of their ship. Not even Gwen had a chance of stopping them from getting away.

Brendan cursed under his breath before going over to the elderly couple. "Are you two okay?" May came up beside Brendan and they both helped the couple to their feet.

"Y-yes, we'll be fine," the woman said through a struggled breath.

"I've taken harder hits in my day," the man said with a chuckle. "I'll be fine…but I fear that it won't be for long. Now both the Blue and Red Orbs have been stolen, and both were taken by men who aim to awaken the ancient Pokémon, Kyogre and Groudon."

"Yeah, we learned about that at the Weather Institute. The orbs awaken those two, right?" May asked.

The woman shook her head. "That's only half of it. Have either of you two heard of something called Primal Reversion?" Brendan, May, and Gwen all looked at one another, remembering what Steven Stone had said when they were back in Granite Cave on Dewford Island.

"Yeah, we've heard of it, but only from legends one time," Brendan said. Both the elders looked a little surprised.

"Ah, that is impressive. So few people actually know that part of the legend. However, there are some parts of the legends that only my husband and I know. What we're about to tell you is something that has been kept secret for generations. The Red and Blue Orbs don't just awaken Kyogre and Groudon, the orbs trigger their Primal Reversions."

 _I don't like where this is going,_ Gwen hesitantly said to just Brendan and May.

The woman's expression turned fearful. "If the super ancient Pokémon are reawakened in their Primal forms, the world would be destroyed in their clash. Nothing but those two would survive," she said.

"And one last thing," the man said as he pulled a gold token of sorts with the Team Magma crest on it from his pocket. "That Team Magma group that took the Red Orb left this. I don't know what it is, but it might help you fight them."

Brendan and May didn't say anything as Brendan took the Emblem and put it in his bag. After all, what could one say in response to hearing something like that? The keys that could kick-start the end of the world were now in the hands of two eco-terrorists who had no idea what they were about to unleash on the world.

"I see you two understand what's at stake here. However, there is good news. The orbs take time to reawaken both Pokémon. That amount of time is usually about a month after the orbs are removed from this mountain. So, I suggest that you use that time to train up. You'll likely need it if you're to help stop this threat," the man said. Both Brendan and May nodded as they began to descend the mountain.  
-

After what felt like hours, but were really only minutes, Brendan finally spoke up. "We really shouldn't worry too much about this. How many times have we beaten both Team Aqua and Team Magma? This time will be no different."

May smiled. "Yeah, I know…but this just means that we will need to work extremely hard and prepare like they're going to succeed in awaking Kyogre and Groudon. Any normal opponent we can beat…but I don't think we could beat that level of power."

"In that case, how about we work to find the last member of your team? You'll need all the power you can get," Brendan said.

"You mean here?" May said with a tone of slight fear in her voice.

"Well, yeah, why not?" Brendan asked.

"Ghost Pokémon…tend to creep me out a bit," May said.

Brendan smiled sympathetically before noticing something a bit odd over May's shoulder. "I see, well then, maybe you should tell that to the Spiritomb behind you." May jumped and turned around, seeing the spirit Pokémon floating behind her, a smile that was really creepy to May.

"HOLY ARCEUS!" she shouted and ran behind Brendan, the Spiritomb looked a bit sad at May's reaction as it started to drift off. When she saw its expression turn, she began to feel bad for having reacted that way. "H-hey, wait, come on back. I'm sorry for shouting, you just startled me." The Spiritomb looked back at her with a look that seemed to ask if to ask whether it was okay if he stayed with them for a while.

"Sure, why don't we bring him with us? This Spiritomb seems to be friendly. Plus, he may even be good in contests," Brendan said.

"You mean for more of a dark, spooky appeal?" she said with an intrigued tone. "I think you're right." The Spiritomb perked up when he heard her say that, even though she still seemed a bit apprehensive near the ghost-type. That was when Gwen approached the other Pokémon.

 _This is Asteroth. He seems to be a bit shy, but he's also a bit of a prankster as you found out earlier. He seems to really want to travel, and he thinks May will be a good fit for him. Don't ask how he knows, his explanation is quite confusing, even to me._

May nodded and smiled slightly as she pulled out an empty Pokéball.

 _Wait, he wants to battle you first,_ Gwen said with a smile. _He wants to test you as a trainer before joining you._ As she said that, however, she got a questioning look on her face, as if she was sensing something in the distance.

"Of course he does. I was expecting nothing less," she said with a slight chuckle as she grabbed Miranda's Pokéball and sent out her first and strongest Pokémon. Asteroth, on the other hand, took on a serious expression, as if he knew how important this battle was. "Alright, Miranda, use Blaze Kick!" Miranda's foot lit up with flames as she leapt forward and delivered a reverse roundhouse kick, sending Asteroth flying and crashing into a nearby rock. That, however, was not about to beat the ghost Pokémon. Asteroth then formed a Shadow Ball before throwing it at Miranda. The attack hit hard, sending the Blaziken sliding back. He then fired a powerful Dark Pulse at Miranda, hitting her squarely in the chest and sending her sprawling into the dirt. "Use Flame Charge!" Miranda got to one knee and pushed off the ground, running fast and gathering flames around her body as she got faster, crashing into the Spiritomb and sending it into the ground again. That's when May threw an empty Pokéball at Asteroth. The Spiritomb was taken inside and the ball dropped to the ground, rolling a couple times before it stopped and clicked as the Pokémon was captured.

Brendan smiled. "Congratulations, you've captured your sixth Pokémon," he said as he approached and kissed his girlfriend. He cut it short, however, when he felt a strong wave of apprehension from Gwen. When he looked to his Pokémon, she was looking at the trees along Route 121. "Gwen, is everything okay?"

 _Y-yeah, I'm fine,_ she said, but her thoughts betrayed her words, as Brendan began to see a couple of Gwen's memories, particularly those dealing with her mother's death.

"Gwen, you know that you can't lie to me," Brendan said with an eyebrow raised. "You're thinking about your mother, aren't you?"

Gwen sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach. _Yes, but I honestly don't know why I'm remembering it._

"Want to keep moving?" May asked. "That might help."

 _I guess. Maybe it's just being in a cemetery that's brought up these bad memories,_ Gwen said. _Want to teleport back to Route 121 instead of walking?_

"Sure, it'll save us time," Brendan said as he looked to the western horizon, seeing a large mass of storm clouds approaching. "Besides, we should get to a Pokémon Center before that storm hits us."

"Agreed, I hate getting caught in storms," May said. Gwen simply smiled and placed her hand on their shoulders, immediately teleporting them to the pier at the border between routes 122 and 121. The three of them began to walk to the east, moving toward Lilycove as quickly as they could. They had gotten to the halfway point when Gwen stopped.

 _Brendan, May, stop!_ she said forcefully. The two trainers did as they were told, looking at Gwen with concern.

"Gwen, what's wrong?" Brendan asked.

 _I know the reason I was remembering my mother's death. I've been sensing it since May started her battle with Asteroth. It wasn't Mt. Pyre._ She looked to the trees as she spoke. _That flock of Honchkrow and Murkrow that killed my mother is on this route._ As if they were waiting for that cue, the entire flock appeared from the trees.

"Gwen?" Brendan said.

 _Brendan, I'm sorry, but this is something I need to do. This flock killed my mother, so I think it's time I get some good, old-fashioned revenge_ , she said.

(Pokémon speech will be translated)

"Well, I thought I recognized a scent," the head Honchkrow said. "But I never thought the little hussy would ever mess with us in our territory." Gwen said nothing, glaring at the Honchkrow who had killed her mother in front of her.

"Gwen, if you need help, let me know" Brendan said.

 _Brendan, I appreciate the sentiment, but no. I need to do this alone,_ she said.

Brendan wanted so badly to help his Pokémon, but he knew that she was right. This was her personal vendetta, and for it to mean anything, she needed to do it on her own. "Well, I won't stop you. But I want to help in just one way." He placed his hand on his Keystone and began the Mega Evolution process. Gwen transformed into her most powerful form, her power and anger radiating out.

She smiled at Brendan. _Thanks Brendan. This shouldn't take too long._ That was when Gwen turned to the flock, seeing a look of overconfidence on the leader's face.

" 't seems the little hussy got stronger since last time. This should be more enjoyable than your bitch of a mother." That was when the storm came overhead, raindrops falling slowly at first, but it gradually grew into a deluge. Gwen, however, seemed too angry to care.

 _You murdered my mother, and caused me so much pain. This may not be satisfying, but I don't care. This time, you'll know fear!_ As she said that, her voice was steadily increasing in volume until she was using Hyper Voice, hitting nearly every member of the flock. The leader and the eight strongest members were the only ones to escape the attack. The rest of the flock dropped to the ground, stunned from the power behind the attack.

"I ain't feelin' fear, so why don't we skip the formalities. BOYS, USE BRAVE BIRD!" The nine survivors of Gwen's Hyper Voice all dove at her, flames building around their bodies as they flew at Gwen.

 _You won't get me that way!_ Gwen teleported behind the Honchkrow, throwing a massive Thunderbolt at the flock, shocking half of them, but the rest dodged. Unfortunately, the rest of the flock was recovering and getting in the air, along with the thunderbolt victims.

That was when Brendan saw Gwen's face for the first time since this battle began. Her cheeks were soaked with tears. "Gwen," he whispered, seeing just how painful these memories were for Gwen.

 _Oh fuck it all!_ Gwen shouted as she held her hands in front of her. Energy gathered in front of her as a golden sphere, which shifted to a pearlescent pink before it was fired in a single, thick beam of energy, hitting only the head of the flock, focusing all her power on that one target. In that moment, all her anger culminated drastically increasing the power of her attack until the beam surrounded the Honchkrow entirely, and she didn't let up. Brendan watched in near horror as the Honchkrow in the beam was burned to the point of being charred. Once all of his feathers were burned off, Gwen stopped her attack, letting the Pokémon fall to the ground, his body smoking despite the cooling rain. The rest of the flock looked at Gwen with absolute fear as she looked at their leader before slowly glaring at the rest, even as tears streamed down her face.

 _I'll show mercy to the rest of you. Be aware that this is the last warning you will ever get. If you ever attack anybody else for any reason but a normal Pokémon battle, I will find out, I will find you, and I will end all of you. Take this pile of charcoal you call your leader and get out of my sight!_

(End of the translations)

The Honchkrow of the flock picked up their leader and flew off as Gwen returned to her normal form. That was when a soaked Brendan stepped forward to her side. "Gwen…" He said, not entirely sure what he was going to say.

 _I know, you're concerned that I'll snap again, but believe me, I won't do this again unless they give me a reason._

Brendan nodded in understanding. "Alright, I trust you, but I will be keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't lose it like this again." Gwen smiled and pulled May and her trainer in for a hug, tears streaming down her cheeks.

 _I promise, it won't happen again,_ she said, letting a short silence fall. _We should get to a Pokémon Center and get out of this storm._ As she said that, lightning flashed to reinforce her point.

Brendan nodded. "Agreed. But if you ever do anything like this again, I will put you into your Pokéball."

Gwen blanched at that threat. _Understood._

"By the way, how the hell did you use Hyper Beam just now?" Brendan asked.

 _I have no idea. My emotions just got so high that the power simply came to me. I know I couldn't do that again without learning the attack for real._

Brendan nodded. "Well, maybe we can find a TM for it to teach you, or find a move tutor."

Gwen laughed. _Yeah, we'll have to see._

May just smiled. "Hey, you two, this is touching and funny, but can we please get out of the rain?" she asked. That got Brendan and Gwen moving, and within the next hour, they were in Lilycove, entering their room at the Pokémon Center.

"Alright you two, what do you think we should do tomorrow?" Brendan said as he stepped out of a hot shower. May, who had just gotten into a new concert t-shirt, this one from The Braviaries, looked really tired.

"Well, there's the Lilycove Department Store, I kind of want to go there," she said, half asleep.

 _And then there's the contest preparation, right?_ Gwen said.

"Yeah, there's that too," May said.

Brendan got on the bed, lying next to May, hugging her from the side, kissing her cheek before she turned to kiss him on the lips. "Why don't we discuss this tomorrow?"

 _Of course, because I'm exhausted_ , Gwen said. With that, they all fell asleep, barely under the covers.

The next morning, Brendan and May were just about to enter the department store when Brendan stopped. "Hey, May!"

May and Gwen both stopped. "What's up?"

"I want a rematch. Right here, right now!" he said. Gwen seemed to like the idea, as did the multiple pedestrians going into the store who had overheard the conversation.

May just smiled. "I was wondering when you'd challenge me. I accept." With that, they both took their positions, Gwen feeling excited for this battle.

"Let's have a full battle here!" Brendan said as he pulled out Nikki's Pokéball. "Ready?"  
May pulled out Erza's Pokéball as well. "You need to ask?" They both threw their Pokéballs, and their battle began.

 **There we go, this chapter is finally finished. I hope you enjoyed it, and I apologize that it took so long, but preparations for finals took priority, and they were a pain in the ass. Anyway, next chapter is the battle, and May's next contest.**

 **As always, please leave a constructive review.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18**


	35. The Fun Times in Lilycove

_The Fun Times in Lilycove_

"Erza, use Iron Tail!" May called out. The shiny Lairon reared back and began to barrel toward Nikki, who stood tall and ready for Brendan's command. Erza's tail began to glow and shimmer like polished steel as she ran.

"Nikki, counter that with Brick Break!" Brendan called. Nikki's hands both began to glow as she waited for Erza to get close. When they were within striking distance, both the Slaking and the Lairon swung, their attacks colliding and sending a slight gust of wind out, a testament to the power behind both attacks. Eventually, though, Nikki's attack won out, sending Erza back. As Nikki began her short recovery from her attack, May took the opening.

"Now, use Iron Head!" she called. The Lairon sprinted at Nikki once more, her head glowing and shimmering as she hit the Slaking powerfully, sending her sprawling. Thankfully for Brendan, Nikki got up.

"Alright Nikki! Great job! Now, use Reversal!" Nikki ran at Erza, grabbing her and flipping her onto her back before punching her in the face.

"Flash Cannon!" May called. Erza fired a single beam of metallic energy, hitting Nikki at point-blank range, doing serious damage, knocking Nikki out.

"Damn," Brendan said under his breath as he recalled Nikki. "Then I'll use Turk!" He threw the Pokéball of his Crawdaunt, who seemed to flex as he appeared on the battlefield. "Now use Swords Dance, then Aqua Jet!" Turk was surrounded with illusory swords momentarily as his attacking power increased dramatically. He was then surrounded by swirling water before he flew at Erza.

"Use Protect, then Rock Tomb!" May said calmly. Erza was surrounded with a green sphere of energy, blocking Turk's incoming attack before making four rocks erupt from the ground, hitting Turk hard, one of the rocks barely hitting his leg, but doing enough damage to slow him down.

"Turk, use Crabhammer and finish this round!" Brendan said. Turk's claws began to glow brightly as he smashed through the stones as he flew at Erza, hitting her over the head twice. Erza went flying back, landing at May's feet, knocked out.

May sighed as she recalled her Lairon, pulling out her most recent capture. "Asteroth, come on out!" The Spiritomb appeared, earning whispers of admiration from the crowd. "Start with Nasty Plot!" Asteroth's body was surrounded with a black aura as his special attacking power increased dramatically.

"Turk, get in close and use Night Slash!" Brendan called out. The Crawdaunt leapt at Asteroth, his claws turning black as he slashed the spectral Pokémon across the face, sending it through the air.

"Shock Wave!" May called out. Asteroth gathered a ring of concentrated electricity before it erupted out, hitting Turk hard, sending him back. The Ruffian Pokémon would not be beaten that easily. He got back up, but it was clear that one more attack would end it for Turk.

"Aqua Jet!" Brendan called out.

"One more Shock Wave!" May said. Turk launched himself at Asteroth, the Spiritomb gathered another ring of electricity, releasing it as Turk was within mere inches of landing the attack. It sent the Crawdaunt flying back, knocking him out before he even hit the ground.

"You did really well Turk, return!" Brendan recalled his Pokémon as he took out Jack's Pokéball. "Come on out Jack!" He sent out his Camerupt, who looked ready to battle.

"Asteroth, use Shadow Ball!" May called. The Spiritomb launched a large sphere of dark energy at Jack.

"Jack, counter with Rock Slide!" Brendan said. Jack launched a large pile of boulders into the air, hitting and breaking up the incoming Shadow Ball before carrying through and hitting Asteroth hard. The Spiritomb retreated into his Key Stone, showing that he had been defeated.

"Asteroth, come on back!" May called out, recalling the ghost. "Now, I choose Graham!" She sent out her Pelipper, knowing she had a type advantage.

"Smart move there!" Brendan complimented. "Use Rock Slide again!" Jack launched more boulders, almost hitting Graham. Almost.

"Use Protect!" May commanded. The bird was surrounded with a green sphere of energy, blocking the rocks. "Now use Water Pulse!" May called out. Graham fired three rings of water at Jack.

"Use Flamethrower to counter!" Brendan said. Jack spat a long jet of flames, hoping to make the water evaporate before it hit its mark. While the water did dry up slightly, the fire just wasn't hot enough to get all the water. Jack was hit with all three rings, sending him sliding back, but he wasn't beaten yet.

"Graham, use Stockpile!" May said calmly. The Pelipper gathered a sphere of energy in front of it before putting it in his mouth.

"Rock Slide!" Brendan said. Jack launched more rocks into the air as they crashed into Pelipper, getting close to a knock out. Graham wouldn't be beaten so easily either.

"Water Pulse!" May called.

"Rock Slide!" Brendan said at the same time. Both Pokémon fired their attacks, and both attacks hit at the same time, finishing both Pokémon.

"…Well, that happened," May said as she and Brendan both recalled their Pokémon.

Brendan laughed slightly. "How about we both use our second Pokémon in this next round?"

"I like the idea. Go, Lily!" May said.

"Come on out, Clint!" Brendan called, thoroughly enjoying this battle. "Now start with Dual Chop!" The Sceptile's leaves began to glow with purple energy as he leapt at Lily, ready to swing.

"Use Siver Wind!" May said. Lily began to beat her wings, sending a stream of silver sickles of dust at Clint. The Beautifly's attack hit first, sending Clint back. The attack did damage, but Clint was not going to lose that easily. He leapt back up and hit Lily again, knocking her to the ground.

"Nice job Clint, now for the attack we've been practicing!" Brendan said. "Dragon Pulse!" Clint gathered a sphere of purple energy before firing a stream at Lily. May and her Beautifly were too shocked by this new development to react in time as Lily was hit by the beam.

"Lily, I know you can keep going. Get up and use Bug Buzz!" May said. Lily flew into the air before she began making a buzzing sound that almost sounded like a Kricketune playing really badly. Clint covered his ears as he came closer to losing, but he held on.

"Clint, finish this with Rock Tomb!" Brendan said calmly. Clint threw four boulders from the ground, surrounding and hitting Lily, sending her to the ground again. This time, the Beautifly didn't get back up.

May sighed as she recalled Lily. "That was really well done Brendan. I didn't think you'd pull that off. But that doesn't matter now, because it's time for Drake to make his appearance!" She sent out Latios, getting the entire crowd to gasp, and a few even pulled out their phones, starting to take pictures and videos of the Eon Pokémon.

 _Avery will probably love this,_ Gwen said to Brendan, making him chuckle slightly.

"Well, Clint and I aren't going to back down from this challenge. Start with Dragon Pulse!" Brendan called.

"Dodge, then use Luster Purge!" May said. Drake barrel-rolled over the incoming Dragon Pulse before he began to glow white as he fired his own beam, this one white with some small streaks of blue. Clint had no chance to dodge, and he was hit in the chest, getting thrown back, past Brendan and Gwen, and he landed hard, passing out.

"Clint, you fought hard. Get some rest, you earned it," Brendan said as he recalled his Pokémon and pulled out Avery's Pokéball. "Well, since Drake is out, I might as well send out his sister. Come on out Avery!" The Latias appeared, but she immediately turned around and began to nuzzle Brendan, earning multiple "aww's" from the crowd, as well as more phones and cameras. Brendan just laughed and pet her under chin. "Hey Avery, I'm happy to see you too. You ready for a battle?" Avery chirped happily and turned to face Drake.

"Drake, start with Dragon Pulse!" May said. Drake fired a single beam of energy at Avery, giving it nearly pinpoint accuracy. Avery, however, was not going to let the attack hit. In a way that made it look like she was playing, Avery spun away from the attack, taking no damage.

"Great job Avery! Now, use Shadow Ball!" Brendan said. Avery gathered an inky black ball of energy before launching it at Drake. This one went faster than the Dragon Pulse, hitting its mark and sending Drake back from the attack's power.

"Wow, I didn't know you trained Avery so well already. I'm impressed," May said with genuine admiration.

"Well you're training Drake just as well," Brendan said in the same tone.

"I need to in order to keep up with you," May said. "Like this. Ice Beam!" Drake reared back and fired a single stream of ice at Avery.

Brendan's eyes went wide at that. _When did she teach him Ice Beam?_

 _No clue,_ Gwen said in response. _But if you don't do something or you'll lose this round._

 _Right, I know,_ Brendan said. "Avery, dodge and use Dragon Pulse!" Brendan said. Avery rolled to the side before she fired a stream of energy at Drake. The Ice Beam passed by Avery, clipping her wing and freezing it slightly, before she fired a beam back at Drake, this one hitting him in the chest, doing severe damage.

"Alright, fine, you've forced my hand. Drake, use Draco Meteor!" May called out. Drake gathered an orange ball of energy, launching it into the sky where it exploded, splitting into multiple smaller orbs of energy and raining down at Avery, who desperately tried to dodge it. Unfortunately, the incoming attacks were too numerous. Drake's attack hit Avery repeatedly, sending her into the ground, where she wound up passing out. Drake, however, was looking exhausted too. Brendan walked over to Avery and pet her neck as she regained consciousness

"Hey, you did really well out there. Get a good rest," he said. Avery cooed happily and nudged Brendan before he recalled her and turned to Gwen.

 _You don't need to ask. I'm ready,_ Gwen said with a smile. She walked onto the battlefield with confidence.

Brendan smiled and stood up behind Gwen. _Then let's get it done. Want to go mega for this?_

 _Let's do it. The crowd is still looking for a show, just look at how many people have cameras out._ Brendan looked around and saw that all but the elderly members of the crowd had phones or cameras out. He smiled to himself.

"Gwen, now, Mega Evolve!" Brendan touched his Keystone, making both it and her Gardevoirite necklace light up and connect with each other. Gwen began to transform into her Mega form, her power radiating out. Brendan smiled. Now the battle would be more interesting, and the collective gasp of awe from the audience. _Show time. Start with Hyper Voice!_ Gwen shouted, sending a massive cone of sound at Drake. The attack hit hard, sending Drake back, past May before landing on the ground and getting knocked out.

May sighed and crouched down beside Latios, and she whispered so not even Brendan or Gwen could hear her. "You fought hard Drake, get some rest for the contest tomorrow morning." She recalled him and pulled out Miranda's Pokéball. "Time for our first Pokémon to face off. Go, Miranda." The Blaziken came out of her Pokéball and gave a roar. "Now, Mega-Evolve!" May touched her Keystone, causing it and Miranda's Blazikenite to glow and they linked with multiple tendrils of light. Miranda's entire body lit up and began to change. Her white head feathers began to point upward, and she grew a single tuft of red feathers coming from her forehead. There were also two streamers made of fire extending from her wrists. When the glowing ceased, her body had gotten a bit thinner, but there was clearly more power in her. Her legs also had black feathers covering from her hips to just below her knees. To put it simply, Miranda looked badass. "Start with Shadow Claw!" Miranda's talons began to glow with a purple and black aura as she leapt at Gwen.

 _Teleport to dodge, then use Psychic_ , Brendan said. Gwen vanished just before Miranda hit her. When she reappeared, Miranda was gripped with the light blue aura of Gwen's telepathy before she was lifted into the air and dropped. Gwen smirked confidently, but that smirk fell when Miranda righted herself and landed softly on her feet, barely feeling the impact through her powerful legs.

"Great job Miranda, use Blaze Kick!" May said. Miranda leapt at Gwen as her foot began to burn brightly as she spun around and delivered a fierce kick to Gwen's side, making her eyes bug out momentarily as she lost her breath shortly and began to roll back. She struggled to her feet, coughing hard and holding her side.

 _Arceus, that hurt. Miranda, did you need to go that hard?_ Gwen said.

 _Are you alright? Want to continue?_ Brendan said.

 _Yes, I'm fine. By the way, I'm Gwen, you must not know me,_ she teased slightly.

 _Okay, then use Hyper Voice again!_ Brendan said. Gwen shouted again, sending another sound wave, hitting Miranda hard and putting her into the air.

"Respond with Shadow Claw!" May said. Miranda landed and began to sprint at Gwen, her talons glowing with black and purple energy. And, to make matters worse for Brendan and Gwen, Miranda was getting faster thanks to her Speed Boost ability.

 _Gwen, we need to move faster, use Teleport to dodge!_ Brendan said. Just as Gwen was about to teleport, Miranda grabbed her arm and slashed her across her chest. Gwen teleported away and put her hand on her chest, which had visible marks now.

 _Ow!_ Gwen said as she got to her feet. _Alright, no more Miss Nice-Gwen!_ She reached out and used her psychic power to grab Miranda and push her into the ground before dragging her in a circle then . Brendan smiled at Gwen's ingenuity.

 _Good work, now throw her up and slam her into the ground,_ Brendan said.

"Miranda, push off the ground and use another Blaze Kick!" May said. Miranda struggled against Gwen's grip, but she managed to get to her feet, then she jumped forward and swung her leg around as her foot lit up with flames.

 _Grab her now!_ Brendan said. Gwen's eyes lit up with a deep blue aura, and Miranda was caught with the aura when her foot was mere inches from hitting Gwen's face. She then lifted Miranda into the air before throwing her toward the ground, making sure to accelerate the throw so there was a limited chance of Miranda righting herself like she did last time.

Unfortunately, Miranda wasn't going to let Gwen have her way. "Finish that Blaze Kick!" May said. Miranda struggled against Gwen's grip. She was a foot from the ground when she got free, her increased speed allowing her to land on her feet and spin, kicking at Gwen. Gwen teleported at the last second, but she didn't escape a mild burn on her cheek. She touched the burn lightly, wincing slightly.

 _Well, time to finish this_ , Gwen said. She shouted, using Hyper Voice. This time, Miranda couldn't dodge. She was thrown into the air, landing in a heap on the ground in front of May. However, she was able to get to her feet and run at Gwen, her foot flaming again as she closed the distance before she hit Gwen in her side. Or, at least, what looked like Gwen. It turned out to be an illusory clone. The real Gwen was standing a good distance away. Gwen shouted one last time, hitting Miranda perfectly. While Miranda flew, she returned to her normal form, fainting at May's feet. May crouched down and sighed.

"You did a great job Miranda. Now, get a long, well-earned rest," she said as she recalled Miranda and stood up. That was when the crowd began to applaud. There were, however, two shady characters in the crowd who walked away with sinister grins on their faces, both had their hoods up. One of them, however, had a barely visible Team Aqua symbol etched on a bandana under his hood.

"That was an amazing battle you two!" said a familiar voice. Brendan and May turned to the source, seeing none other than Lisia standing at the entrance to the Department Store, clapping for her friends. "And to think that since Verdenturf, you two have mastered Mega Evolution and you captured the Eon Pokémon. But I'm guessing there's much more that happened since I last saw you. We should get some coffee in the Starboks here and catch up!"

Gwen answered for them. _Definitely, let's go!_ Brendan and May didn't object as Lisia led them into the Department Store's café, where they all got their drinks and sat at a small table.

"So, tell me about what you three have been up to," Lisia said after she sipped her drink.

Brendan started with his battle against Norman, then the trip to the Southern Isle. May then picked up the tale of what happened at the Weather Institute and how she beat him in their battle on that route. She did, however, omit what Team Aqua and Team Magma were planning to do with Kyogre and Groudon. Gwen finished with Steven helping them learn Mega Evolution, the battles on Mt. Pyre, and her battle against the Honchkrow flock. Through all this, Lisia was on the edge of her seat as they talked. When they finished, she had no way to respond.

"Damn, I can't top all that. I've just been traveling with the contest committee and preparing my routine for this year's Grand Festival," Lisia said with a slight pout. What she didn't say was that she could tell they weren't telling her everything about their travels, but she decided not to press the subject. "But I'm glad you two have been doing well overall."

They continued to chat for a while before deciding to head back to the Pokèmon Center for the day. May needed to refine her plan for the contest in less than a week.

—a—a—a—a—

"Welcome one and all to the Lilycove Contest!" Vivian said, earning a round of applause from the massive crowd in the contest hall. "Now, allow me to introduce our panel of judges!"

While Vivian made the introductions, May was brushing her hair to make it shine just right, her contest outfit was perfectly fitted. She already had Asteroth's Pokèball ready, but what really bothered her was the lack of real opponents in this contest. Grace wasn't there, and neither was Chazz. While she didn't miss the douche and his Machoke, she missed having Grace around. The woman had been there for all but the last contest she was in. She had a feeling this contest would be too easy if her rivals weren't there. "Well, I guess I can simply have fun with this one." Thankfully, she was to be the second to perform, so she wouldn't need to wait long to perform. That way Asteroth wouldn't be too nervous when they did their routine.

The first coordinator, had an average performance. She used a Victreebel, a rare Pokémon in Hoenn, to combine Sludge Bomb, Razor Leaf, and Vine Whip, making some unexpected fireworks. Her final score was twenty-three out of thirty.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for our second coordinator, the student of Lisia Rain, please welcome May!" Vivian said.

In the crowd, Brendan, Gwen, and Lisia were all cheering loudly as May entered the stage, but they were drowned out by the rest of the crowd. It was clear that they all knew who she was, and they were all expecting her to have an excellent performance.

May took a steadying breath before she threw her Pokèball. "Asteroth, take the stage!" The Spiritomb appeared with a haunting howl, starting the eerie appeal. "Start with Ominous Wind!" Asteroth let out a dark-colored breath, letting a worrying fog fall over the entire contest hall. "Now, Shadow Sneak and Shadow Ball mixed with Shock Wave." Asteroth disappeared by melting into nothing but a black shadow on the ground, moving from the stage to multiple spots in the crowd, firing an electricity-covered Shadow Ball at each stop, firing from one side of the hall before instantly getting to a different spot entirely, sending another, making sure they collided, making the electricity disperse, and causing the clouds to get darker, with the electricity flashing in a way that it looked like storm clouds. "Now, come back to the stage and use Rain Dance!" Asteroth reappeared on the stage as a deluge began on the stage, making the appeal of a stormy night nearly complete. "Now, use one more Shock Wave!" Asteroth let out a ring of electricity, which he made converge into a cone before it spiraled into the clouds before coming down and striking the center of the stage, dispersing the clouds and stopping the rain. When the surprise at the quality of the performance waned, the audience gave a standing ovation, and the judges gave the verdict of a perfect thirty. May gave a cheer and hugged Asteroth as best she could before she stood and took a graceful bow and recalling Asteroth before leaving the stage.

As the contest continued, Brendan quickly realized that May had this one wrapped up, so he was thinking of how they would celebrate her victory. "Hey, Lisia, I have a quick question."

Lisia looked over. "If you're wondering whether I'm bored out of my mind with these mediocre appeals, then I think you know the answer to that."

Brendan chuckled. "I'm bored with them too, but that wasn't what I wanted to ask. What's the nicest restaurant in Lilycove?"

"Oh, that would definitely be The Lodge. It's within walking distance of the Pokèmon Center, and the food is incredible," she said. "But the dress code there is formal."

 _Brendan, you hoping for a date tonight?_ Gwen said.

"Why wouldn't I? May and I haven't really had a proper date since Meteor Falls, and that didn't exactly end well," Brendan said. "Might as well have it tonight."

Lisia smiled. "Well, you're certainly a romantic guy. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I wish I could find a guy like you."

 _You will, I'm sure of it,_ Gwen said with a smile. She then turned to Brendan. _I'm guessing you want to go out with May alone, right?_

 _I feel bad leaving you out of this one, but I kind of want a night alone with my girlfriend,_ Brendan said.

 _You don't need to explain. Lisia, would you be okay with it if I spent the night with you? Because sitting in the Pokèmon Center watching bad television is not my idea of a fun night_ , Gwen said.

Lisia just laughed. "Yeah, no problem, but I'm also staying at the Pokèmon Center."

 _Makes for an easy trip,_ Gwen said. As she said that, the final appeal was made, earning a twenty-seven, which was the second highest score of the day.

"Oh, hey the crappy appeals are over finally," Brendan noted cheerfully. "Time for May to win the battle round."

The battles didn't last long, though. May used Drake and won her first battle with a single Luster Purge to defeat the Victreebel trainer. In the final round, though, May went up against a Mightyena trainer, and she easily won again. This time, though, it took two attacks, and dodging a Crunch attack. It was frankly embarrassing to the other competitors, and it even made Brendan wish that Grace, or even Chazz had been there to at least give May a proper challenge. But the ribbon was good for entry into the Grand Festival, and this was her fourth ribbon. Only one more to go.

—a—a—a—

That night, Brendan and May were walking out from the Pokèmon Center, May wearing a blue silk dress with her hair curled into a straight wave style, leaving her bow behind and wearing a darker red lipstick. To compliment her outfit, Brendan was wearing khaki pants and a blue button-down shirt. He also left his white hat behind, styling his hair to be more fashionable, parting it to the side.

"Brendan, you still haven't told me why we're dressed up, and why we left Gwen with Lisia. What are you planning?" May asked.

Brendan simply smiled as they rounded the corner and The Lodge came into view. "Well, look right in front of us and you'll see our destination."

When May saw the restaurant, her eyes opened wide. "No, you didn't! That's one of the nicest restaurants in all of Hoenn," she said in pleasant disbelief.

"Surprise. Lisia helped pull some strings and got us reservations here," he said. "Gwen agreed to stay in Lisia's room so we could have our second date."

May kissed Brendan on his cheek. "I love you so much," she said.

 _And I win again!_ Gwen said. She and Lisia had been playing _Mortal Kombat X,_ and despite having never played before, Gwen was winning nearly every game. She had taken a liking to Scorpion, and she had just gotten her third fatality in a row.

"Wow, that's impressive. You've picked up the controls in a few hours." Lisia said.

 _I don't know what to tell you, I guess just have a talent for these types of games._

"Uh huh," Lisia said, suspecting that the psychic type may be using some underhanded tactics. "Another game?"

 _Why not? I'll even use another character if you want me to._

"Of course, we've got nothing better to do, right?" Lisia said.

 _She's catching on that I've been reading her mind. Shit,_ Gwen said to herself. That was when she sent slight, but noticeable messages to Brendan, jokingly telling him to hurry up.

—a—a—

Brendan looked at her lovingly before opening the door for her. Dinner was excellent, with great service, everything was cooked to perfection, and they even had a great wine pairing as well. But through the meal, Brendan couldn't help but remember the promise he made back on Mt. Chimney. For May, however, the thoughts were more romantic.

 _The fact that Brendan went through all this trouble for me is amazing. I may need to properly thank him again tonight,_ she thought. _But…I want more than just that. The chemistry is perfect, and we just work so well as a couple._ Her thoughts were silent for a while as she and Brendan talked for a little while before returning to her borderline fantasy. May began to imagine her dream wedding, and while she had usually had a faceless man standing at the end of the aisle, waiting for her, this time, without trying, the faceless man was replaced by Brendan. And now, there were three bridesmaids who hadn't been there before: Lisia, Grace, and Gwen.

"May," Brendan said, snapping her out of her musings. "I was trying to ask you if you want dessert."

"Oh," she looked at her plate, before sighing. "I'm too full. The dinner alone was more than enough."

"I agree, and Gwen keeps sending me hints that we should get back," Brendan said with a chuckle. Coincidentally, that was when their waiter came by with the electronic check, and Brendan paid with his Trainer Card. He almost went broke doing it, but he had enough to cover the bill. "Well, are you ready to go for a short walk back?" he asked as he stood up and held his hand out for May.

She took his hand, pulling herself up and kissing his cheek briefly. "I'm ready now." Brendan smiled back before they walked out of the building, both with love on their minds.

"By the way, May, I know it may seem out of nowhere, but there's something I want to say," Brendan said.

"What is it?" May said, noting the serious tone in Brendan's voice.

"Well, during dinner, I was remembering what happened on Mt. Chimney, and my promise to you," he said. May was paying her full attention to him now. "Well, I just felt that I needed to restate it, knowing what we will be going into when we start taking on Team Aqua and Team Magma. I swear to you that I will never let you get kidnapped again."

May smiled softly before kissing Brendan lightly, then resting her head on his shoulder. "I know that Brendan. I love you, and I know you will protect me. You should know that I will protect you just as fiercely." The two of them walked in a pleasant silence, heading back to the Pokèmon Center.

They were about halfway back when they realized they were being tailed. "Brendan," May whispered.

"I know, laugh so it looks like we don't know he's there. We'll walk to the police station and get this guy arrested," he whispered. May gave a convincing laugh, one that not only seemed natural, but sounded beautiful as well. The problem came when they passed an alleyway, and a second follower came out of the shadows. Brendan and May both got a little more worried, but they just continued to walk as if nothing was amiss. They continued to pass alleys, and each one had a new follower come out from the shadows twenty. They still had three blocks to go before the police station when three more people came out from a larger alleyway, they were wearing hoodies with their hoods down, showing their Team Aqua bandanas.

Brendan and May both stopped in their tracks, realizing there was no way to get out of this. They had left their Pokèmon at the Center with Gwen and Lisia, trying to have a night truly to themselves. Now, though, it seemed that had seriously backfired.

"So, scamp and scampette, did you enjoy your night out?" said an all too familiar voice.

"Archie," Brendan growled as the commander of Team Aqua came into view.

"Who else?" he said with a laugh. "See, since our meeting on Mt. Pyre, I've done some thinking, and I've realized that every time, and I mean every time, our plans have failed, there's only been one common factor: the two of you." Brendan just glared around, counting over twenty Grunts surrounding them. "So, then I asked myself how to properly deal with you two. Then it came to me. But explaining it would take more time than we have before the police arrive. Grunts, now!" That was when two grunts ran up behind Brendan, one grabbing his arms and pulling them back, incapacitating him before the other one punched him in the stomach, following it up with a right hook to the jaw. Before Brendan could do anything, the same grunt punched him across the face again, almost knocking him out.

"Brendan!" May called as two grunts grabbed her to restrain her and tying her up with a rope.

"So, I think we're going to let you off with a strong message," Archie smiled as a helicopter appeared overhead, sending down a harness and rappelling rope, and the grunts attached it to May. "Now, scamp, I will leave you with this warning. If you ever interfere with my plans again, your little girlfriend here will die painfully." Archie nodded to the rest of the grunts, all of them coming forward and hitting Brendan repeatedly before they had one grunt hit him with a wooden bat, knocking him out.

"BRENDAN!" May shrieked as he collapsed onto the ground. Archie grinned evilly.

"Three of you, take the scamp into an alleyway so he isn't found," he said as a rope ladder dropped from the chopper. May was then hoisted into the air and left dangling from the helicopter as Team Aqua climbed into the chopper, leaving three to hide Brendan. May was then carried off as the helicopter lifted off, staying low to keep their hostage relatively unharmed, and they flew toward a rocky outcrop on the shore of Lilycove, where she also saw a small cave entrance, as well as a mechanical door opening on the top of the mountain.

The helicopter lowered into the doors, stopping so two grunts could get her untied from the rope then pulling her aside so the helicopter could land and the passengers could exit. Archie then approached May and raised her chin so she was looking at him. "Well, scampette you'd better get comfortable as our prisoner. Because you're never leaving," he said before looking at Matt. "See to it that she's given the EMP cell. We don't want her to use her Pokèmon to break out of her cell."

Matt pulled May along by her hair, dragging her deeper into the base and tossing her into a cell that hummed with energy. "Hope you enjoy my bro's best cell. Grub is served twice a day, but that's the only thing you'll have to look forward to." He untied her restraints and pushed her in farther, making her fall hard to the ground. Just as she was getting to her feet, Matt slammed the door and locked it, leaving May on her own.

May was on the end of her emotional rope now. Not only had her second date with Brendan also been cut short by Hoenn's eco-terrorists, but now Brendan had no idea where she was. The only good thing was that her Pokémon were all safe at the Pokémon Center. But that didn't really matter now. She laid down and cried, not caring about who saw her.

—a—a—

Brendan woke up on top of a pile of trash bags the next morning, the events of last night returning through what was likely a minor concussion. _Brendan!_ He heard Gwen calling. He sent an image of his surroundings to his Pokèmon.

 _I'm fine, please come find me._ He said as he coughed roughly. Gwen appeared instantly beside him, helping Brendan to his feet.

 _Thank Arceus you're okay. When you didn't come home last night, Lisia and I got extremely_ _worried_. That was when she noticed that May was nowhere to be seen. _Where is May?_ Gwen asked, already fearing that she knew the answer, teleporting them to the Pokèmon Center, getting Brendan to his bed.

"Team Aqua took her." He said, anger clear in his voice. "And it was right after I reassured her that I would never let anybody kidnap her again."

 _Well, we just need to rescue her like last time, it shouldn't be too tough since we've beaten those two teams so many–_

"I don't know where they took her," he said. "If we're going to save her, we need to start searching."

 _But if you don't know where they took her, how do you intend to find her? Will you go to the police?_ Gwen asked.

Brendan shook his head. "The police will be too slow. I need to move faster," he said as he reached into his bag and pulled out the Magma Emblem the old couple gave him on Mt. Pyre. He glared at it intently. "And even though they're enemies, I think I know where I need to start."

 **Hey everybody, thanks for reading this admittedly long chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. As always, please leave a (constructive) review.**

 **One thing to address: I intentionally kept the contest and date relatively short, since they aren't the essential parts of the story, but there will be a date where all you suckers for romance can look and just say "awwww!"**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	36. The Rain of Fire

_The Rain of Fire_

Within an hour, with May's Pokèballs on his belt for the time-being, Brendan and Gwen were flying Avery and Drake respectively, and they were flying back toward Mt. Chimney.

 _Hey, Brendan I'm a bit confused. Why are we going to Mt. Chimney?_ Gwen asked.

"We're looking for Team Magma, and they're trying to reawaken Groudon. So, I get the feeling that the best place to search for them would be a volcano. Where else would a behemoth, continent-forming Pokèmon be? It would most likely be somewhere with magma, since that's what expands the land," Brendan said.

 _So, that's the most likely place for a group of eco-terrorists who want to expand the land to be hiding out,_ Gwen said. _But why are we going after Team Magma when it was Team Aqua that took May?_ As soon as she said that, she could sense the anger within Brendan getting stronger.

"Team Magma and Team Aqua are enemies. It stands to reason that they will know where Team Aqua will be. We're going to get that information, even if we need to beat it out of them." He said that last part in a tone that sent a chill down Gwen's spine.

 _Just…don't do anything that would drive May from you,_ she said quietly as they landed at the peak of the volcano. They got off Avery and Brendan recalled her as they walked over to the entrance of the Jagged Pass.

"Even Team Magma wouldn't be dumb enough to put the entrance to their hideout out in the open on the peak of a mountain," Brendan said. "We should go down the pass."

Brendan and Gwen were almost to the base of the mountain when the Magma Emblem in his pocket began to glow. "What the?" he said as he took out the coin and held it out. As he did that, there was a deep rumbling like a massive stone rolling.

 _Brendan, over there!_ Gwen said. He turned to where she was pointing and saw a cavern opening in the side of the mountain. _If that's not the Magma Hideout, then I don't know what is_.

Brendan nodded. "Let's go, we need to be quick, and as a bonus, we could also get back that Red Orb that Team Magma took from Mt. Pyre. That might prevent Groudon from waking up," he said as he led the way into the cavern.

The first thing both he and Gwen noticed was the unbelievable heat. _Wow, they really took the "magma" part too far._

 _Yeah, this should be interesting,_ Brendan said, deciding to keep conversations telepathic so they wouldn't alert the patrolling grunts. _We may need to be stealthy here. One wrong move, and we'll be captured. Then we won't be able to help May._

That was when Gwen got a worried look. _Brendan, I don't know how, but I think my teleporting abilities are being blocked. We won't be able to make a quick getaway if we need to._

 _I understand,_ Brendan said. _We'll just have to improvise should the need arise._

The duo walked through the cavern's passageway, which was bordered by two cliffs. There were little steam eruptions coming from small cracks in the rock floor around them, but they were mostly harmless. That was when Brendan spotted the first Grunt, who was sitting on his own, leaning against the wall. _Wait here,_ he said to his Gardevoir as he snuck closer to the Grunt, who seemed to be oblivious to Brendan being there. It wasn't until Brendan heard light snoring coming from the grunt. This would be easy. He tossed the only radio he could find on the grunt to Gwen, who simply crushed it, then pulled the man up and slammed him into the wall of the cave and put his arm in a chicken-wing hold.

"What the hell? Who are – AAGH!" the grunt cried out as Brendan pushed his arm up.

"You don't ask the questions, understood?" Brendan said in an intimidating voice. The grunt nodded. "Now, first thing's first, do you have a map of the base?"

"No, only those who are in Team Magma come here, and we all know the layout," the Grunt said through gritted teeth.

"I thought as much. Next question: where is Maxie?" Brendan asked threateningly.

"He's much farther down in the base. I don't know where exactly," the Grunt said.

"Well, you've been no help at all," he said as he glared at the Grunt before pulling him around and punching him hard, knocking the grunt out cold, then letting the man collapse.

They were climbing the stairs leading into the next, larger cavern. And they saw the four grunts patrolling, so Brendan looked to Gwen. _Do you want to battle all these guys, or do you want to try and sneak by them?_

 _They're grunts, so it won't be hard. Let's battle them quickly and quietly,_ Gwen said.

Brendan nodded and they went into the open, getting the attention of the grunts, making short work of their Pokèmon. _Gwen, bind them. I have some questions for them._ The four of the grunts were surrounded by the blue aura of Gwen's psychic power. Brendan stepped up to one of them.

"Now, I have some questions for you," Brendan said. "The first one, I don't expect you to know, but I'll ask it anyway. Where is the Team Aqua Hideout?"

The first grunt in line, a man with a military cut under his hood laughed. "We're Team Magma, why would we know where the Aqua hideout is?" he said, earning a kick to his kneecap from Brendan. The kick bent the man's leg back too far to be natural and the man shrieked in pain.

"I have no time for smart ass comments!" Brendan said with gritted teeth. "Now, for my second question. Where is Maxie?"

"He's much deeper. In fact, he's about to fulfill his dream," the woman said almost fanatically.

Brendan looked at Gwen. _Shit, that must mean he's close to waking up Groudon._

 _We need to hurry,_ Gwen said. _If we don't, then the world could be destroyed._

"Which way is it?" Brendan asked.

Go straight forward, down the stairs, you'll find the cavern easily," one of the more compliant grunts said.

"Well, thank you for the information. Gwen, knock them out," he said. Gwen nodded and used a Hypnosis attack on the grunts, putting them to sleep before dropping them to the floor. _Great, now let's go get what we came for._

The two of them went down the stairs to the farthest exit of the cavern they were in, leading them to a cavern filled with lava, which had two separated grunts. Brendan looked to Gwen. _More battles?_ He asked.

 _More battles,_ Gwen said enthusiastically. Luckily, these two didn't take too long, Brendan using Jack and Turk to beat both with ease. They kept going to the next cavern, this one significantly bigger than the last one, and there was a single massive pool of magma, but all they could see was the red glow emanating from behind a massive rock formation. There were three more grunts to battle before Brendan saw the first real problem in this raid.

"Tabitha," he whispered as he saw the lieutenant of Team Magma seemingly waiting for something.

"Well, Brendan's your name, right? It seems that you got careless. If you were trying to sneak through our base properly, you should have killed the grunts you battled. See, they woke up and contacted me over the radio to tell me you were coming," he said with a sadistic smile on his face. Brendan didn't hesitate as he ran forward and punched Tabitha in the stomach before punching him across the face. Tabitha spat at the ground. "You hit like a desperate man. Perhaps because of your lost woman." Brendan's scowl deepened. "Thought so. And now you think that Team Magma has intel on where Team Aqua is. We do have that information, but it will never be for you."

 _And if we beat you to the curb, will that change your answer?_ Gwen asked.

Tabitha just laughed loudly. "No! Arceus, no!" he said through hearty laughs. "Why the hell would I give up precious intel to a stupid teenager?"

"How many times has this 'stupid teenager' beaten both Team Magma and Team Aqua?" Brendan said.

"Good point, so I'll make you a deal. If you win this, then you may go on ahead, and see just what we're up to," he said in a confident tone, as if he knew he already had this won. He then sent out a Golbat, not using any names, for his first Pokèmon in this battle.

"Erza, come out!" Brendan said as he sent out May's Lairon.

"Wait, isn't that the girl's Pokèmon?" Tabitha said, clearly confused.

"Yeah, she didn't have them when Team Aqua took her. But that isn't your concern. Now, Erza, use Rock Tomb!" Brendan said. Erza roared as she launched four rocks from the ground. They all flew at the Golbat.

"Dodge and use Confuse Ray," Tabitha said. Golbat's eyes let out four multi-colored orbs, which spun around Erza and disoriented her. Unfortunately for the Golbat, he didn't dodge and the Rock Tomb attack hit hard, sending him to the ground, knocking him out. Tabitha grimaced and recalled his Golbat. "Alright, I'll use my Camerupt now!" The fire yak came out and bellowed loudly.

Brendan recalled Erza, glaring at Tabitha as he pulled out Turk's Pokèball. "Come on out Turk!" he said with rage in his voice. The Crawdaunt appeared with a grunt, clicking his claws together.

"Start with Flamethrower," Tabitha said. His Camerupt let loose a stream of fire, letting it fly at Turk.

"Bubblebeam to counter, then use Crabhammer!" Brendan said. Turk launched a stream of bubbles at the incoming fire, stopping it before the flames could reach their intended target. He then leapt through the resulting steam, his claw raised and glowing before he slammed into Camerupt. The fire Pokèmon bellowed in slight pain before passing out.

"Mightyena!" Tabitha said as he both recalled his Camerupt and sent out a dark wolf. Brendan rolled his eyes and recalled Turk before sending out Miranda.

"Mightyena, use Crunch!" Tabitha said. Mightyena ran at Miranda with its teeth glowing black.

"Alright, let's make this quick. Miranda use Double Kick," Brendan said. Miranda leapt at the Mightyena, lashing out and delivering two powerful kicks to Mightyena's body, launching it into a nearby wall.

"NO, DAMN IT!" Tabitha shouted. He had his Mightyena return to its Pokèball. He then looked at Brendan with a scowl. "Fine, go talk to Maxie. He'll teach you why Team Magma is to be feared."

Brendan glared at Tabitha before bringing his foot forcefully into the man's crotch, dropping him to his knees. "Consider that payment for kidnapping May in Meteor Falls," he said as Gwen just began to walk forward, past the lieutenant of Team Magma, who was now writhing on the ground, groaning in pain.

 _Nice kick, it looked painful,_ Gwen said.

 _He deserved…_ Brendan trailed off as they went around the corner and were able to barely see over the rock formation, and Brendan saw the ridged head and slightly curved back of what looked like a massive Pokèmon made of stone. _Is that what I think it is?_ He pulled out his Pokèdex and held it up to scan the Pokèmon.

The Pokèdex came up with the image Brendan feared it would, the one that he remembered from the research he and May did at the Weather Institute. The voice then spoke. Groudon, the Continent Pokèmon. Not much is known about this Pokèmon outside of legends, but it is said to be the personification of the land itself. After this Pokèmon had a titanic clash with Kyogre, it fell into a deep slumber.

 _Shit, we need to get over there,_ Gwen said, starting to run around the next corner, Brendan right beside her, and they saw Maxie standing in front of the lava pool. He held a red gemstone much like the Blue Orb that Archie stole from Mt. Pyre. Aesir, his Camerupt, was already sitting beside him.

"MAXIE!" Brendan called, catching the Magma leader's attention.

"Ah, two of the three who have nearly thwarted my plans. However, I will no longer allow you to stop me from my success. Aesir, keep these fools occupied while I finish my preparations," Maxie said, touching his Keystone and causing streams of light to connect between it and the Cameruptite around Aesir's neck, transforming the Pokèmon into his mega form.

Brendan touched his keystone and Gwen went through her own Mega Evolution process. "Maxie, you may want to pay attention. If you remember, Gwen was just a Kirlia when we beat you on Mt. Chimney. We've only grown stronger since that battle!"

Maxie barely acknowledged him. "That won't matter," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Now, Aesir, take her out."

Gwen looked to Brendan. _Let's make this one quick too._

 _Use Calm Mind, then Psychic. If that doesn't end this, then use Hyper Voice. Try to destroy the machinery Maxie's using in the process if you can._

Gwen smirked as she was surrounded by a green aura. That was when Aesir's volcano erupted and unleashed a Lava Plume attack. Gwen simply raised her hand and stopped the incoming attack with a Psychic attack, throwing it at the machines by Maxie. The lava splattered on the sides and melted through, frying the insides and disabling it. Maxie cursed loudly and walked over, still holding the Red Orb in his left hand. "Fuck! Alright kid, now you've pissed me off. Aesir, use Rock Slide! Crush that prissy Gardevoir!"

 _EXCUSE ME!_ Gwen said loudly before using a Hyper Voice to throw Aesir off his feet and making him crash into Maxie.

 _Use another Psychic to finish this, but don't knock out Maxie. I still have questions for him,_ Brendan said.

 _Got it, but can I still hurt him a bit?_ Gwen asked.

 _Go for it,_ he said. Gwen raised her hand and gripped Aesir with psychic energy. She brought him into the air before throwing him back into the ground, feeling the anger within Brendan going from a simmer to a boil. That anger spilled into her, making the attack more powerful and knocking the Camerupt out completely and reverting him to his regular form.

Gwen returned to her normal form as well, while Brendan ran over to Maxie, who was groaning and struggling to get up after Aesir had slammed into him. Brendan delivered a powerful kick to Maxie's face, breaking his glasses with the hit. He grabbed Maxie by his coat and pulled him up, and slamming him into the machine. "Alright Maxie, it's time that you answered a just a single question for me. Tell me, where is the Team Aqua Hideout?"

Maxie coughed a bit, some blood in his mouth. "Is that really the only reason you're here? Heh, you were in Lilycove already. You were right next door to my brother's little pirate cove." Maxie cackled, but Brendan cut him off by pulling him forward and kneeing him in the stomach. What neither Brendan nor Gwen noticed was that Maxie dropped the Red Orb at that moment, and it was now rolling toward the pool of magma where Groudon was resting!

"You know, I may have beaten you on Mt. Chimney, but that was just a battle. It's really time for my payback for what you assholes did to May," Brendan said. He whipped around, throwing Maxie to the dirt before dropping a knee on the man's chest. Gwen started to shrink back, worried about what Brendan was about to do. She proceeded to walk around to the nearby exit tunnel, since she felt a very ominous sense that they would need to make a fast escape. She watched as Brendan kept punching Maxie, turning the man's face into a swollen mess, but her attention was drawn to something else.

 _Wait, is that…BRENDAN!_ she said, getting her trainer's attention. _The Red Orb!_ She pointed to the rolling stone. Brendan whipped around, only to watch helplessly as it fell into the magma pool.

"That can't be good," Brendan said. As if to prove his point, the magma began to glow white, sending a beacon of light up. Then, the stone casing around Groudon's feet began to crack, releasing more light. The cracks continued to spread and web through the behemoth's body. The shell shattered, and revealed the red and grey monster, which was glaring down at Brendan with its massive, piercing blue eyes. Brendan was frozen in place with fear. _Please don't turn primal, please don't turn primal!_ Brendan silently pleaded. Unfortunately, it seemed Arceus was flipping him off today, because a gigantic omega symbol appeared in the magma and it swirled around the massive Pokèmon, seeming to infuse with the giant Pokèmon.

"Wh-what's happening?" Maxie struggled to say. "This isn't supposed to happen!"

Brendan glared at Maxie. "You're telling me that you, the one who was dreaming of waking Groudon, didn't do the research to find out what happens when the Red Orb is united with the damned thing?" he shouted. "Let me inform you. The Red Orb not only awakens Groudon, it reverts it to its Primal form. Your efforts, and Archie's, may have just doomed the entire world!"

 _Brendan, we need to leave!_ Gwen said frantically. The mountain began to quake and small rocks dust to fall from above.

"Yeah, I know!" he said, grabbing Gwen's hand as they ran for the exit. Just as they were about to get there, Groudon burst from the magma, his body even taller, and now the lines of his body, along with his eyes, all seemed to have lava swirling through the Pokèmon's body. He looked back at Maxie. _He may be a terrorist, but he doesn't deserve to die. Not like this. I have to-_ his thoughts were cut off as Groudon began to step out of his magma pool, sending a wave of molten rock over the edge and toward Maxie. There was no way for him to get there before Maxie was engulfed, even if Gwen could teleport him. He turned back to the tunnel that Gwen was waiting for him in, and continued to run to her. "Come on, we need to go now!"

Maxie gazed up at the Pokèmon as it took a step, completely unable to move from the beating Brendan had given him. _So, in the end my ambitions wind up killing me._ He looked to Aesir, recalling his Camerupt and tossing the Pokèball as hard as he could, getting it well over the walls to his right. The ball, thankfully landed at Tabitha's feet, and the lieutenant picked it up. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he wouldn't let any Pokèmon suffer if he could help it. And hopefully, he would be able to get out of the hideout too.

a—a—a—a—a—a

May sat in her cell, wringing her dress, waiting from the grunt to bring her meal. It had been a day, and the guards had already been keeping a very fixed schedule for when they brought her the meager meal of just bread, and water, neither of which were good by any stretch of the imagination.

She looked at the clock within her cell, and like clockwork, the guard opened her cell at exactly 1:00 with her lunch. May, however, had different plans. Just as the man was placing the food on the bench beside her, she grabbed his head and slammed it into the metal wall as hard as she could. The man slumped over and passed out. _Alright, time for me to move._

She quickly removed her high-heeled shoes, which she had kept on since her date the night before, but now she carried them with her. She could see the guard had no weapons, and she wasn't about to try and use his Pokèmon, so she figured she would need some way to fight back. She also wasn't in the mood to break an ankle while escaping. She ran out of her cell fast, sprinting through the hall, making it up the stairs to the main levels without anybody catching her. May continued through the base, ducking behind walls when the patrols came by, until she got to the helicopter bay. Now, however, she was at a loss, because she had no clue where she was supposed to go from here. So, to improvise, the coordinator found the nearest lone grunt and clubbed her over the head with her shoe. The grunt crumpled to the ground, knocked out, and May began to search the woman until she found a map. Unfortunately, it was a poorly made map that looked like it was drawn by a toddler.

 _Arceus damn it, why the hell did I think that Team Aqua would be smart enough to make a good map of their base?_ She silently cursed herself before taking a chance. She stepped forward, only to realize too late that it was a warp tile. _Why the hell does Team Aqua have warp tiles? I thought they were in prototype phase at Silph Company._ As she asked herself that, she was teleported into the worst possible place: the grunt breakroom. There was a large window that looked west, and she could see Mt. Chimney clearly from where she stood. The fifteen grunts in the room all looked up as May entered.

"FUCKING DISTORTION WORLD! Somebody grab her and get her back to her cell before Archie finds out she got out!" That got four grunts on her, two of which stumbled away with bruises on their faces that were exactly the shape of the soles of May's shoes. The others restrained her before a fifth came forward, but they were all stopped when a massive earthquake was felt through the entire base.

"What the hell is going on?" one of the grunts yelled. May, however, saw the cause and she was terrified. The grunts noticed her gaze being fixed on the window, following it and all of them stumbling back. There was a massive cloud of smoke and multiple towering plumes of lava accompanying it from the mountain.

May was terrified to say the least, and her blistering heart rate was proof enough. _Brendan, don't you dare be anywhere near that volcano._

a—a—a—a—a

 _Come on Brendan, the exit is just ahead, then I can teleport us a safe distance away!_ Gwen said. Brendan didn't need to be told twice as he sprinted ahead with Gwen, the light of the exit growing closer, but so too was the magma behind them. Gwen was floating fast, and Brendan was sprinting at top speed beside her, his adrenaline keeping him going. The magma was rising fast, and it was mere inches from Brendan's heels before they broke out onto Jagged Pass. _Alright, now!_ Gwen grabbed Brendan, and they teleported away to the northern end of route 111. Brendan then let out Avery, and they began to fly. _We're safe for now,_ Gwen said with a slight sigh. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

As they were getting into the air, they both heard what sounded like the biggest explosion in history. Brendan whipped around to look at the source, and watched hopelessly as the south side Mt. Chimney exploded out, and the glowing form of Groudon was revealed to the world. What Brendan was more scared about, however, was that the stones and lava were now flying directly at Lavaridge Town, and there was enough of both to bury the town and leave no evidence that it was ever there in the first place "Gwen," Brendan said quietly, trying to comprehend what was happening. He watched helplessly as the rocks and lava rained down on the small town, destroying every building and likely killing the entire town's population. Even the gym was turned into nothing but glorified charcoal.

As the three of them ascended and flew away from the disaster, Brendan saw that a few lava-coated rocks were flying toward Fallarbor and Rustboro, and they had the speed to make it to those cities. "There's…nothing we can do." Gwen looked just as terrified and devastated as Brendan, watching Groudon as he seemed to breathe deeply of the cool air, which was suddenly growing hotter and hotter as the sunlight grew more intense. "Gwen," Brendan whispered.

 _What is it?_ she asked.

"We can't possibly fight something like that," he said with defeat slipping into his voice. Gwen didn't respond, nor could she. Brendan was right. They couldn't possibly fight a Pokèmon with that level of power. It would be like trying to fight nature itself.

Avery, not wanting to spend any more time near this catastrophe, decided to act quickly and get her friends away from this danger as she flew to the nearest temporary safe-haven: Slateport City.

 **Well, what a way to end a chapter. It was tough deciding to do that much destruction in one go, but when dealing with primal god-level power going on a rampage, there will to be more than a few casualties.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, leave a review with some constructive critism. Next chapter, Brendan will get his next lead on Team Aqua, and try to find May.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18**


	37. Aquatic Raid

_Aquatic Raid_

This is Gabby from Hoenn News Network reporting live from where Lavaridge Town used to be. The site is now nothing but a field of cooled lava. It's unclear how many were killed as a result of this horrible tragedy, and it appears as though we will never uncover that answer. In addition, the Mt. Chimney National Park has been destroyed in its entirety, with the full south side of the mountain being forcefully broken apart. A few of the boulders were launched into Rustboro and Fallarbor, but thankfully there were no casualties from those impacts. While experts on volcanos are unsure what exactly happened, there are some who claim to have witnessed what they described a gigantic Pokèmon breaking out of the mountain. Since the eruption, the highest temperatures in the history of Hoenn have been recorded all across the region, and residents are urged to remain indoors as much as possible. Needless to say, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this disaster.

Brendan heard Gabby giving the news report as he drank his second whiskey and Coke in a Slateport bar, with Gwen next to him drinking her first alcoholic drink, a cranberry and vodka, which she surprisingly enjoyed. They had been here since the bar opened, and that was three hours. _So, are we just going to give up?_ she asked.

 _No, I just needed a drink. I mean, nobody ever did anything this stupid while completely sober, right?_ Brendan said as he finished his drink. Gwen just laughed.

 _You know, we should keep looking for May after this. If the world is about to end, we might as well be with the ones we love most,_ Gwen said, finishing her drink as well. Brendan smiled a bit as he paid the bill. Before they left, the bartender gave them both complimentary bottles of water telling them to stay hydrated and stay safe. They needed it, because they were sweating the moment they got outside, facing temperatures well over one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit. They walked over to the northern end of Slateport. They were almost out when they noticed a large crowd was standing outside the harbor, and there seemed to be a different news crew outside interviewing a familiar person.

 _Hey, isn't that Captain Stern, or whatever his name is?_ Gwen asked.

 _Yeah, let's go see what's going on. If we're gonna be in this heat, might as well be doing something,_ Brendan said as they approached the crowd, starting to hear the interview going on.

"So, Captain, with this new submarine you've built, what kind of research do you hope to accomplish?" the reporter asked.

"Well, the machine is designed to go deeper underwater than humans have ever gone. Our main goal is to find any unknown species of Pokèmon that live in the deepest parts of the ocean," the captain said with confidence and excitement.

"And what purpose does the small drill on the front serve?"

"That is to simply break through any rocks that we can't go around while underwater," Stern said calmly. That was when another familiar voice could be heard.

"Captain Stern, we of Team Aqua would like to thank you for your generous donation to our cause!"

 _Oh, come on! Can't we get a day away from this shit?_ Gwen said as she teleported Brendan to Captain Stern's side.

"Huh, oh you're Brendan, right? When did you get to Slateport?" he asked.

"Yesterday, but that's not important. We need to get to the dock and stop them from stealing the submarine," Brendan said as he pushed through and ran toward the bay, where he saw Archie and Shelly, the latter of whom Brendan almost didn't recognize since he hadn't seen her since the Weather Institute, standing beside the submarine while two grunts were inside getting the engines started. "ARCHIE!"

The commander of Team Aqua turned toward Brendan. "Oh, scamp! Glad that grunt didn't kill ye with that bat." His tone was a bit sarcastic

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Brendan said. "Where the hell is May?"

"Scampette is back at the base," Archie said, which earned a slightly shocked look from his lieutenant, which didn't escape Gwen's notice. "Come find us in Lilycove. We will gladly show you just how…hospitable we can be. Until then, Scampette is just going to have to wait for her knight in shining armor," he said, cackling as he and Shelly climbed into the submarine, closing the hatch just as it began to move out of the harbor.

"No, damn it!" Brendan shouted as he ran over to the dock, dropping to his hands and knees, punching the ground in frustration.

Gwen just came up beside him. _Did you see Shelly's face when Archie said they had May?_

Brendan looked up at her. "No, why?"

 _She was shocked. She almost looked like she was disgusted with him,_ she said. _I get the feeling that she didn't that the kidnapping happened._

Brendan scowled as he stood up. "Well, I don't really care right now. We need to get to Lilycove and get May back."

Gwen nodded. _I completely agree. Just be sure you don't go crazy while in their base._

a—a—a—a—a

On the submarine, Shelly was standing at a window, watching as they passed schools of Magikarp and Tentacool, with the occasional Sharpedo. It was a bit relaxing for her to see the underwater world rush by, but she couldn't really relax. Her mind was too focused on the exchange between Archie and that boy, Brendan. _Why was he asking about his girlfriend? And why did Archie say she was at the base? It doesn't make any sense._

"Shelly, is there something on your mind?" Archie said as he approached her from behind.

"Sir, why was Brendan looking for May? Did you have something to do with this?" she said, not one to waste any time.

"What do you mean?" Archie said.

"I heard you say that May was in our base. Why the hell would she be there?" Shelly was now getting an angry tone in her voice. "If you did something like a kidnapping, you know that I didn't sign up for that shit."

Archie looked surprised at her. "Is this mutiny?"

"Archie, when you recruited me, you said that Team Aqua was working for the betterment of the planet. I joined because I truly believed that," she said.

"And we are still doing that," Archie said.

"Then why the hell did you have to kidnap somebody?" Shelly said as she slapped him across the face. "That's not saving the world, that's something Team Rocket would do!"

Archie scowled. "I did what I had to do to keep Brendan from stopping us."

Shelly glared at him before shaking her head and looking out the window. Archie turned and walked away, leaving his lieutenant to her thoughts. "You idiot, don't you understand that you've only made Brendan hate us more?" she whispered.

a—a—a—a—a

Avery and Drake got Brendan and Gwen to Lilycove's shore by dusk. And from there, Brendan could see a single small cave entrance. _Gwen, can you teleport us in-_ Gwen put her hand on Brendan's back and they were suddenly inside the cave. The interior was all black and there was a large blue flag with the Team Aqua emblem hung over the second passage. There were two chains drooping from the ceiling along with three blue banners overhead. The walls had a lot of greenery growing around them, and right before the Team Aqua banner was a waterfall on each side. _Wow, this is interesting._ Brendan said to Gwen. _It's actually quite beautiful._

 _I know what you mean._ The two of them walked into the main entrance, which was a little bare compared to the previous room. It was still black, but it was simply a long hallway, but that was it. They walked forward, climbing the short staircase, and seeing an L-shaped hallway, and there were two green circles on the floor with one on each end of the hallway.

 _Are those warp tiles?_ He thought. _I didn't realize Silph had finished their production._ Without much thought, he took a step on the first one, which transported him directly into a small storage closet. _Not much here, so I'll just go back._ He stepped back on the tile and returned to Gwen.

 _Seems like you're really feeling reckless,_ Gwen said.

"It's not like I'm concerned with what these Aqua bastards will do," he said. "After that bump they gave me and their kidnapping May, I kind of want to beat all of them, whether that's battle or in a fist fight."

 _Well, Brendan, please don't get too crazy,_ Gwen said. _I really don't want May to hate you._

Brendan simply nodded. "I won't get too angry, and I won't kill anybody. But I will be relentless," he said. Gwen conceded the point as they walked to the farther warp panel, and they teleported into what looked like the upper floor of a break room, which had two grunts conversing along one of the walls. Luckily, they hadn't noticed either Brendan or Gwen nearby.

"So, I told him he should just take 'is sweet time with that prisoner girl, give 'er a real good time," he said. That was as far as they both got, as Brendan, now seeing red, grabbed one and slammed him headfirst into the wall, knocking him out. He then grabbed the other grunt and pinned him against the wall before punching him in the stomach twice.

"So, you think it's funny to try and take advantage of women, huh?"

"N-No!" the grunt stuttered as he tried to not look at his companion, who was lying a bit too still for comfort.

"Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't do to you what I just did to your friend over there," Brendan said menacingly.

"B-because of her!" the grunt said as he pointed over Brendan's shoulder. Brendan punched the grunt once more, this time across the face to knock him out before turning to see who was behind him. "Aren't you Shelly? You helped Archie steal that submarine."

"Yes, I know, but that's not what I'm here to discuss. I want to talk about what Archie did to you and May," she said.

Brendan looked cautiously curious. "He attacked us and kidnapped her. Why do you want to know about it? Gwen had the suspicion that you were unaware that it had happened. Is that true?"

"Yes, and I'm disgusted with him for doing it," Shelly said.

 _She's being honest,_ Gwen said.

"And, why are you telling us all this?" Brendan asked.

"Because Archie doesn't care, and you two are the only ones who can really stop him. I know what happened with Team Magma and that they awoke Groudon. That devastation was from just one of those two Pokèmon. If Kyogre is on the same scale as Groudon, then that level of destruction will be on Team Aqua's hands," Shelly said. "Besides, the reason I joined Team Aqua was to preserve the oceans, not to expand them to the point of global devastation."

"So, what do you want with me?" Brendan asked.

"I want to help you stop Archie from doing something terrible. So, I want to give you this from Archie's personal stores," Shelly said as she pulled out two items that looked like Pokèballs, but they had purple tops with two pink bumps on the upper corners. Visible in the center was a single white "M." Brendan looked awestruck.

"Are those…Master Balls? I've only heard rumors about it secretly being developed by Silph. The only one I know of was given to Red after he stopped Team Rocket," Brendan said.

"Well, when Archie was younger and…a bit more noble…he was friends with the Silph president. These were recently sent to him as a gift, but I didn't let him see it. I've had my doubts for a while about Archie's intentions, and him kidnapping May just proved my suspicions," she said.

Brendan took the two Master Balls and put them in his bag. "Thanks, but where is May?"

Shelly looked sadly at Brendan. "Archie took her to the submarine. I can take you there, but you will need to give me time to get on the submarine so he won't suspect anything about me."

"Then get me there quickly so I don't miss the chance to get her out of here," Brendan said. Shelly nodded, taking him through the base as quickly as she could.

a—a—a—a—a—a

May struggled the entire way from her cell, kicking Matt's shins and trying to hit him with her head as he tried to carry her like a ragdoll to the submarine. "Damn it you giant oaf, let me go!" Matt just ignored her as his already black and blue shins took another blow. He'd need some serious icing for them later, but that was something he would worry about during his down time while Archie and Shelly woke Kyogre. For now, he needed to get this girl to Archie, then stall the boy just long enough for Archie to get away. It was a simple job, and it was one that he would carry out perfectly.

May, on the other hand, was in hell. Not only had her escape attempt yesterday failed, but now she was being carried by the big, sweaty guy who seemed to want nothing more than to bend over for his "bro." But that wasn't the only reason she was fighting so hard. She was fighting because she could sense Gwen very nearby, and she knew that could only mean Brendan was here. She sent her tenth kick to Matt's shins. He cringed at that hit, but he could now see the submarine, which had been given a paint job that made it look like a Sharpedo, so this part of the job was almost over. "Archie!" he called, getting his boss's attention. "Please take her off my hands, my shins can't take any more kicks!"

Archie motioned and three grunts took her from Matt, restraining her completely and dragging her to Archie. "Well, scampette, I didn't want to bring you along, but I can't have you harming my grunts while I'm gone. So, you're coming with me for today, we will keep you with us on the submarine, and you will behave yourself," he said, grabbing May by the chin in a show of dominance.

May spat in Archie's face in response. "Go to hell," she said.

"Still feisty, huh? No matter, we couldn't care less whether you like us. What we're doing is for the betterment of the world," he said with a scowl.

"Oh, and how'd that work for Team Magma? It doesn't take a genius to know that they woke Groudon. So, what'll you do now? Wake Kyogre and do the same amount of damage?" she said darkly.

Archie scowled again. "If Maxie woke Groudon, then we can counter it with Kyogre! After all, we have the Blue Orb, so what will stop us from controlling the leviathan? Take her aboard and toss her in the brig." The grunts followed Archie's orders to the letter, literally throwing May into her cell. This time, though, she pulled out her PokeNav, which still worked. That told her she wasn't in an EMP cell like she had been before. Hopefully, this could work in her favor. There was also a window that faced the dock, where she could already see Matt cradling his legs and holding an ice pack on each of them.

"ARCHIE, GO TO HELL!" May shouted with clear anger in her voice. She sat on the bench for a little while, before she saw Shelly come around a corner and board the submarine, and she was carrying a small bag too, looking at the window as if she knew May was there.

a—a—a—a—a

Brendan and Gwen waited for five minutes by the warp panel as Shelly had instructed to avoid raising suspicion that she had helped them. She wanted to do that to make sure that she could continue to help them from inside the organization. He had given Shelly a bag with May's usual traveling clothes, and her Pokèmon. He had to be sure that even if he couldn't get to her in time, at the very least he could help keep her safe. While he didn't know whether he could fully trust Shelly, he felt he really had no other options left. It was a desperate ploy, but then Brendan was beyond desperate by now.

 _Alright, it's been five minutes, let's go,_ Gwen said.

"Yeah, let's," Brendan said as they all got up and took the warp panel to the submarine's dock. The boat already seemed to be powering up and getting ready to depart. He also saw Matt sitting on the floor with ice packs on his legs which now looked severely bruised. Brendan didn't really care about what the buffoon was feeling or doing. He walked over, and surprised Matt with a kick to the face.

"AH, shit! What is it with both you and your little bitch of a girlfriend kicking people?" He said, clutching his now bloody nose.

"What is it with both Team Magma and Team Aqua kidnapping people?" Brendan asked with venom in his voice. "I don't have time for your shit. Now, get out of my way."

Matt just threw two Pokèballs and let out both a Mightyena and a Crobat. Brendan glared and let out Clint. Gwen threw the Crobat effortlessly into a steel crate, while Clint hit Mightyena with a strong Leaf Blade, knocking it out easily. That, however, was when the submarine started to move from the dock. He looked up at the top window of the submarine, where he saw May pounding on the glass, shouting to him, but he could hear none of it. Gwen tried to reach out and stop the submarine, but it seemed that there was something to stop her, because it kept going unhindered. Brendan watched helplessly as May disappeared from his sight beneath the waves.

"No, no, no," Brendan cursed and fell to his knees, punching the ground. "I was so close, but she slipped away!" Matt started laughing then.

"Seems my mission to stall you succeeded. My bro knew I was the best choice for this job," he said. Brendan lost any will to hold anything back. Matt had stopped him from saving the person he loved most in this world, and he had let a lot of rage build up while May was gone, and he was about to let it all out now. He recalled Clint, then grabbed the Aqua lieutenant by the neck, slamming his head against the metal railing, dazing him.

"Yeah, your mission to hold a girl hostage," Brendan said as he stomped on Matt's chest. "You need to learn the definition of insanity. Because clearly, nobody in Team Aqua understands it. If Team Magma couldn't control Groudon with the Red Orb, what makes you assholes think you can control Kyogre with the Blue Orb?" He punched Matt across the face, feeling the man's nose give out and break.

"Ah, damn it!" the man said in pain before the next punch landed. Brendan kept hitting Matt, both of his hands beginning to bleed a bit from the knuckles. When Matt was lying in a small pool of his own blood, Gwen grabbed Brendan's arm and made him stop.

 _Brendan, I know you want to save May, but you need to stop this, because it will do literally nothing for her. And it may even drive her away,_ she said, concern in her eyes. _Just look at him_. Brendan seemed to be calming down as he looked at his handiwork, and almost gagged. Both of Matt's cheeks had been broken, his lip had been split in multiple spots, and his nose was broken at least twice.

He walked away holding his head. _I'm losing it. I'm just barely holding onto my sanity._

Gwen came up behind him. _You're desperate, and that desperation is getting to you. But you need to calm down. If you kill somebody, May will never look at you again._

Brendan took a deep breath to steady himself. "Alright, I need to do better, and I promise you that I won't snap like that again." Gwen hugged him from behind.

 _Remember what Shelley said? Team Aqua is going to a place on route 128 called Seafloor Cavern. So, that's where we're going. We can stop in Mossdeep and get the badge there first if you want._

Brendan sighed. _We'll decide when we get to Mossdeep._

a—a—a—a—a—a

May sat in disbelief in her cell. Brendan had been right there. He had been in her view, but they couldn't get to each other. He couldn't even hear her when she was shouting at the top of her lungs. It was so demoralizing. As she was musing, she heard the main door open, and she saw Shelly enter.

"Before you say anything," the lieutenant said as she pressed a button on a remote she had been holding. "Okay, the cameras and audio in here are disabled. Now, we can speak freely. First, I had no clue that Archie kidnapped you, and I am disgusted by it. Second, I have decided to help Brendan stop Archie so we can hopefully prevent Kyogre's awakening."

May shook her head in disbelief, and a bit of shock at the suddenness of this information. Then one question came forward. "How can I trust you?"

Shelly smiled, clearly expecting that as she passed the bag she had brought aboard through the bars. "Open it. It's a little surprise from Brendan."

May opened the bag and saw not only her normal outfit, which she had been dying to get back into, but all her Pokèballs were in there too. She smiled and looked at Shelly. "Thank you. I'm guessing you want me to keep these things hidden, right."

"Until we get to our destination, yes. Then let loose and unleash hell. Brendan will likely be close behind you," Shelly smiled and left. May now showed the expression of somebody with new-found hope. And she was not going to let it die.

 **Well, thank you all for reading. I hope you all enjoyed this one. As always, please review, and let me know where I can improve.**

 **Next is Brendan's next gym battle in Mossdeep, followed by the Magma raid on the space center.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18**


	38. Mossdeep Mentality

_Mossdeep Mentality_

Brendan was pacing the deck of the ferry that was taking him and Gwen to Mossdeep, and Gwen could tell that he was extremely on-edge and she didn't need to read his mind to know that.

 _Brendan, calm down,_ Gwen said in an almost motherly tone.

"You know I can't do that," he said, his voice really showing how much he was worrying about May. "I mean she was right there, and I-." He couldn't finish the sentence as he started to choke up.

Gwen stood up and walked over to Brendan, pulling him into a warm embrace. _I know how much you want to save May, and I know how much you love her. But right now, there is nothing you can do. Stressing out about it won't do anything for you, and it certainly won't help May._

"I know, but I can't stop myself," Brendan said. "And it's my fault she's in the hands of that psychopath, Archie."

 _But now you both have an ally,_ Gwen said as she tightened her hug a little bit more, sending comforting energy to her trainer. Brendan seemed to be visibly relaxing now.

"Thank you, Gwen. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you," he said, and Gwen could have sworn she felt a tear fall onto her shoulder. She decided not to mention it. As much as she loved to make fun of Brendan and annoy him, right now she just wanted to help her best friend through his ordeal.

Thankfully, that was when the horn of the ship sounded, letting the passengers know that they were about to arrive at their destination. Gwen kept her embrace with Brendan until they got to the dock.

Brendan seemed to be relaxed now, but Gwen could tell he would not stop worrying about May. She couldn't blame him for it though. She was just as worried for one of her best friends. _Come on Brendan, let's get to the Pokèmon Center. We should at least see Mossdeep a bit. Maybe we can get some help with this situation._

"Y-yeah, let's go," Brendan said. Gwen walked ahead, leading Brendan off the docks and going to the Pokémon Center, where they saw the last person they expected to see. "Steven Stone?"

The silver-haired man turned to see Brendan and Gwen, his eyes brightening when he saw them. "Brendan, Gwen, how are you two?" he said almost cheerfully before he noticed the more obvious absence of the group. "Where's May?"

Gwen looked sadly at Steven. _Team Aqua_ _kidnapped her. We haven't been able to get her back yet._

Steven looked shocked at the news. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Brendan, are you doing alright?" he placed a comforting hand on Brendan's shoulder.

Brendan shook his head. "No, I'm losing my sanity," he said.

Steven nodded. "I guess that's to be expected," he sighed then looked at Brendan. "I have a deal for you. I'll help you find May, but I want you to do something first."

Brendan looked at Steven expectantly. "What's the condition?"

"I want you to beat this town's Gym first," he said. "It may seem unimportant now, but trust me on this."  
Brendan seemed to glare at Steven, but Gwen stepped in. _Okay, we can do that. It'll help to calm us a bit so we can focus more on saving May, rather than worrying about her and being inefficient_. She said it more for Brendan's sake than to agree with Steven. They got a room for that night only, knowing they'd only be here for that one night, before leaving the Pokèmon Center and walking to the northern end of Mossdeep, where they saw a building that almost looked like an observatory.

"That must be it," Brendan said, his tone showing his concern for May, and his reluctance to fulfill this condition of Steven's. Despite his dreams to become Champion, he needed to save May above all else. No matter what he did, she was more important.

 _Come on, let's get our badge, and we will make it quick. Just use me and Clint and this will be a cakewalk,_ Gwen said.

"My thoughts exactly," Brendan said. The two of them opened the door and were instantly greeted with a planetarium. At the far end, they saw two people standing, seemingly having an argument. They were only about fifteen, and, while one was a boy and the other a girl, they were nearly identical except for their hair and the fact that they were both beginning to mature physically, and their gender differences were developing now.

"Oh, hello…" the girl said.

"…we are…" the boy said.

"…the gym leaders, Tate and Liza," Liza finished.

Brendan looked like he was getting a headache from that dialogue. "Oh, I'm Brendan and this is my Gardevoir, Gwen. We're here to challenge you two for your badge."

Tate nodded, "Alright, we accept. It's always good to meet a psychic type trainer."

As Brendan looked at them, he realized that they had very similar faces to a Kanto Gym Leader, just younger. "Before we start, do you two know Sabrina of the Saffron Gym?"

"Yeah, she's our aunt," Liza said. "However, we haven't seen her very much recently."

"That explains the resemblance," Brendan said.

 _Alright, no more small talk, time to battle,_ Gwen said.

"Wow, your Gardevoir can talk? Very cool," Tate said. "But we should tell you that, like you and Gwen, we can communicate with each other telepathically. You won't win this battle easily."

 _Don't be so sure, we're a lot stronger than you'd think._

Liza giggled. "Well we do double battles in this gym. Would you agree to a match with two Pokémon per side?"

"Sure, let's get started. Because, I'm in a rush now," Brendan said.

Both of the leaders took out a single Pokéball. Liza called for Luna, while Tate called for Sol, sending out two rock Pokémon. One looked like a crescent moon while the other looked like a sun. _Oh, a Lunatone and a Solrock. This should be both interesting and a bit fast,_ Gwen went onto the field as Brendan sent out Clint. At that moment, the screen on the wall activated and the images of the battling Pokémon appeared next to the faces of the trainers. Each Pokémon's image had a green health bar next to it.

 _Alright, let's keep this simple. Gwen, use Shadow Ball on Lunatone, tell Clint to use Giga Drain on Solrock._

Gwen nodded as she gathered a ball of black energy and threw it at Luna, but the Pokémon dodged quickly. From Clint, there came three tendrils of green energy that latched onto Sol and draining its energy quickly. The green bars beside both Luna and Sol dropped rapidly, to the halfway mark. Tate seemed to be scared, while Liza was glaring at her brother.

That was when Sol unleashed a flamethrower at Clint, while Luna used her own Shadow Ball on Gwen. Brendan, however, wouldn't let them hit.

 _Clint use Leaf Blade to break that Shadow Ball. Gwen, use Psychic to redirect that Flamethrower at Luna!_ Even though Brendan knew that Flamethrower would be virtually useless against a rock type like Lunatone, but at least it wouldn't be hitting Clint.

Clint slashed through the incoming Shadow Ball effortlessly, taking minimal damage, while Gwen channeled the flames at Luna. Unfortunately, the lunar Pokémon dodged almost easily.

That was when Clint was thrown back by a Psychic attack from Sol, but Gwen caught him before he hit the ground. _Alright Clint, let's finish this. We need to get May back as soon as possible, before Brendan completely loses his mind._ Clint nodded and fired off a Leaf Storm, hitting Luna hard enough to knock her out. That was when Gwen used another Shadow Ball, hitting Sol perfectly, knocking him out as well. With that, the buzzer sounded, and Brendan was declared the winner.

Liza walked across the field after recalling Luna, and presented Brendan with his badge, but she looked more disappointed than most gym leaders he'd won against. "Honestly, that battle was much too fast for my liking. Had it been up to me, I would have made it a four-on-four battle, but my idiot of a brother," she said with a glare, which made Tate look away with guilt. "Thought we'd be okay with just Luna and Sol. Will you please come back for a rematch soon? I want to show you that we're not pushovers."

Gwen was shocked when she saw Brendan smile honestly for the first time since May was kidnapped. "Absolutely, but there is something I need to take care of first."

Liza nodded. "Of course, we'll need time to train too."

 _Well, thank you for the match, but we need to go now. When we get our friend, we will come back for a full rematch,_ Gwen said. With that, Brendan and Gwen both left the gym, hearing Liza and Tate start a sibling argument.

Brendan sighed as they walked back to the Pokémon Center, but they realized that Steven wasn't there anymore. So, he went to the counter, figuring the nurse would know where the silver-haired man had gone. "Excuse me, nurse, I'm looking for Steven Stone, do you know where he went?"

The nurse turned to him and smiled. "Oh, yes, he told me to let you know that there was an emergency at the Space Center in the northeast part of the island. He said something about Team Magma."

 _They're still alive? I thought Groudon wiped them all out,_ Gwen said to Brendan only.

 _I guess some escaped in time. But why would they be going after the Space Center?_

 _That's something we will need to find out when we get there._

Brendan smiled at her slightly. _I'd really rather be looking for Team Aqua, but beating what's left of Team Magma is a close second. I just hope May can hold out a bit longer._

They left the Pokémon Center and went to the space center, seeing a tall rocket in the distance. They arrived at the door, and they saw it was wide open. "Oh great, they're already here." Brendan rolled his eyes and walked in, seeing three grunts. When they saw him, however, they all seemed to shy away, not wanting to tangle with the kid who had thrashed their now deceased leader so many times. Brendan just smirked, happy his reputation among the Magmas, and hopefully the Aquas, was this strong.

 _Seems they're terrified. I wonder how many of them escaped the volcano in time,_ Gwen said.

 _I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter, we're here to talk to Steven about getting May back. These clowns won't be a problem, nor will I care if they try to stop us. We will just crush them as always._

Gwen giggled. _True, it'll be very easy to beat these grunts…but Tabitha and Courtney are still a problem. Even with Maxie gone, they may still pose a threat. We should not underestimate them._

Brendan chuckled a bit as they began to climb the stairs. _Maybe. But imagine if the grunts ambushed in force. Maybe then they would actually pose a threat._ As if on cue, they came to the top floor landing and saw five grunts together, all looking ready to battle, sending out a horde of Mightyena. _And Arceus tests us more,_ Brendan said as he sent out Avery. He didn't feel like wasting time or effort here. "Avery, just use Dragon Pulse multiple times, take them out." Within five attacks, the battle was over, Avery having only a few light scratches on her. Good job Avery, now return. Latias returned to her Pokéball and Brendan continued forward unopposed until he saw Steven on the far side, seeing him talking to both Courtney and Tabitha. It seemed that Tabitha was doing most of the talking, pointing to a blueprint of a missile.

"Listen, pompous windbag, we are taking that fuel and launching it at the volcano again. We need to fulfill Maxie's dreams," Tabitha said to Steven, although Courtney seemed to be uncertain of this idea of Tabitha's. Just as Steven was about to respond, Brendan stepped forward.

"Yes, because waking up Groudon and bringing on the worst drought in the history of Hoenn, if not the world, worked so well that it may even destroy life on this planet. Isn't that right, Tabitha?" The new Magma commander jumped, and Steven seemed to smile slightly when he saw Brendan.

Tabitha, however, seemed worried. "You killed Maxie, you bastard."

"Actually, that was Groudon, so the thing that you guys dreamed of killed your leader. Ironic, isn't it?" Brendan smiled, and Courtney, surprisingly, seemed to giggle silently.

Steven stood up from his seat, and looked at the two lieutenants of Team Magma. "Alright, you two need to realize that this rocket fuel is not going anywhere but into the rockets for space exploration. Understand me? Now, you will leave now, or Brendan and I will force you to leave." He turned to Brendan, and smiled. "Want to help me in a tag battle here?" Brendan was surprised, but he didn't let it show. He knew Steven was incredibly strong as a trainer. If he wanted to team up, then this would be an easy, but interesting battle.

Brendan just smiled and sent out Turk, who seemed ready to battle, as usual. Steven smiled as well and sent out an Aggron that looked extremely powerful. While Courtney looked reluctant, Tabitha seemed almost fanatical about this. Despite her reluctance, it seemed Courtney was being forced to battle by Tabitha, evident by how she flinched when she sent out Dolengen, her Crobat, just as Tabitha sent Aesir out.

"So, Maxie got his Camerupt out of Mt. Chimney in time," Brendan looked a bit sad. "I just wish we could've gotten more Pokémon out before you idiots woke up a force of nature."

Courtney looked down in guilt, clearly regretting that she didn't try to talk Maxie out of his fanatical ideas, having realized the tragedy Groudon would cause if it woke. She had looked up to Maxie at first, seeing him as an environmentalist looking to truly better Hoenn. She had been so blinded by her admiration and desire to please her leader that she didn't notice just how far Maxie was falling from sanity.

"Yeah, real sentimental from the boy who killed the man!" Tabitha said, clearly losing his temper.

Steven just sighed. "I'd love to stand here and talk, but there are more important matters to deal with right now. Brendan, let's drive these terrorists out of here."

Brendan smiled. "I thought you'd never ask. Turk, hit Aesir with Crabhammer!"

"Hagane, use Head Smash on Dolengen," Steven smiled as he said this, liking how Brendan wasn't wasting time. It seemed the young trainer had matured since Fortree, but the reason was not one that any person should ever have to endure.

With the two devastating hits from Turk and Hagane, both Dolengen and Aesir were out, but Aesir refused to stay down. He stood back up and glared at Brendan before Steven had Hagane use Iron Tail, which finished the job as the massive, metal, bipedal dinosaur Pokémon slapped Aesir with a glowing tail. The impact sent the volcanic camel flying, and it landed hard, refusing to get back up after that hit. Tabitha shouted and cursed in anger, but Brendan stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar.

"Tabitha, why did you try to continue the damage that Maxie's dream caused? With all that happened, you should have been trying to stop or repair the destruction," he sounded angry. These people had decimated an entire region, and the new leader wanted to keep pursuing that goal? He was on the verge of giving Tabitha another swift kick to the crotch when another hand gently grabbed his. He turned to face her, expecting Gwen, but he saw Courtney.

"Please, let me make it right. I can't promise that we will be able to stop Groudon, but we can still help keep Team Aqua from making it worse by waking up Kyogre," she said this with sadness in her eyes. "I will take over Team Magma from now on, and I will make sure that Tabitha is kept from command positions."

Brendan seemed surprised. This was the second time that a member of these groups came forward and offered peace. It seemed as if Courtney was sincere, but Brendan was wary. "Alright, just get out of here. I have enough from Team Aqua to deal with at the moment."

"We know and I also happen to know where the Seafloor Cavern is," Courtney smiled and pulled out a USB drive from her pocket. "This has all our intel on Team Aqua. I brought it along because I figured you would show up, given that you have stopped almost all of our plans recently." She paused briefly, letting silence fall. "I must say, I find you very intriguing…I like it." With that, she walked away, almost dragging Tabitha as she left the space center.

Brendan breathed a bit lighter then. It seemed that, if Courtney was true to her word, Team Magma would not be a concern anymore. It would certainly make May's rescue much easier for him.

That was when Steven placed a hand on Brendan's shoulder. "So, you got the badge, and what I just saw was an indication that we can't lose any more time." He pulled out boat keys. "Care for a ride to the Seafloor Cavern? My boat is one of the fastest in the region."

 **I deeply apologize for that atrociously long wait. I know it's a shorter chapter than usual, but it's what I could get done with projects flying from my professors' asses, I've had next to no free time to write.**

 **Anyway, as always, please leave a review, just don't be a dick about it. Thanks for reading and being patient. Next chapter will focus more heavily on May, since she didn't get anything this chapter.**

 **Until next time -jmoul18**


	39. Return of the Leviathan

_The Return of the Leviathan_

At the same time that Brendan and Gwen were on the ferry to Mossdeep, May was pacing in her cell, unknowingly copying her boyfriend. Her reason for pacing, however, was because her nerves were on edge. She had been trapped in this cell for nearly a week now, and even though her own Pokémon were with her, she severely missed Gwen and Brendan above all else. And Arceus knew that Brendan was probably losing his mind over the fact that he had just barely missed saving her.

Shelly came into the room while May was pacing. "So, worried, are we?" May looked up, and her expression said everything Shelly needed to know. She smiled sympathetically, sitting across from the cell. "You know, I'm honestly jealous of you and Brendan. You were so lucky to find such a good relationship so early. At your age, I was struggling to even get a boy to notice me."

May looked her over, noticing that Shelly was really beautiful, finding it hard to believe that she struggled for attention from boys. "You struggled to get boys to notice you? Most guys I know would be drooling over you."

Shelly chuckled. "Yeah, I've heard that a lot. Unfortunately, it was always from other girls." She sighed as she said that. "I sometimes wish I could go back and focus more on my social skills when I was your age. Maybe I wouldn't have joined Team Aqua if I had…but then I wouldn't be here now to help you and Brendan, so I guess it was all for a reason."

May seemed to still be uncomfortable as she sat and listened to the engine, having let silence fall. She then decided to get to more important business. "How will I escape when we get to the cave?"

Shelly looked a bit sad. "I don't know if you'll be able to. The caves are very tight and the only way out is to swim through about a mile-long tunnel that's underwater. Unless you have an oxygen tank and a very fast swimmer for a water Pokémon, you likely won't make it out."

"Then Brendan will just have to save me. Damn it, I hate being this damsel in distress, but I can't do anything," she said as she hit the nearby wall.

Shelly looked down with some guilt. "I know this is hard for you. You're the strongest person I think I've ever met, and I admire your unwillingness to be helpless…but right now there is nothing we can do. There's no use in worrying when you can't do anything about it."

May just groaned and fell on the bed, her arm covering her eyes. "How is it that I'm always the one that gets kidnapped? It's not like I even wanted to get involved in this shit. It was Team Aqua that made us want to help the way we did in the first place with a damn mugging in the Petalburg Woods. I was just happy to travel and become a coordinator with Brendan beside me."

Shelly seemed to be more personally affected by that, almost looking guilty. "Had I known then what I know now, I never would have ordered that robbery attempt."

May looked up at Shelly, her expression less shocked than the lieutenant of Team Aqua had expected from such a revelation. "So, you're the one who got us mixed up in all this shit."

Shelly looked down in what appeared to be shame. "Yes, I had no idea what that one order would bring…Arceus knows you and Brendan would have enjoyed your journey like you should have. However, I think that if it hadn't been Team Aqua, it would have been Team Magma. That doesn't excuse what we've done…"

May shook her head. "It's okay, if it hadn't been for Team Aqua and Team Magma, I doubt Brendan and I would be in such a close relationship. So, in a way, I guess it's something that we should thank you for."

Shelly smiled slightly, showing she appreciated the humor, then she shook her head. "No, you shouldn't. We've caused you two more trouble than anybody should be ever have to go through."

May sighed. "How long before we get to the cave?"

"It will probably be tomorrow morning. You should try to get some sleep first. You'll need it."

May pursed her lips then nodded. She loathed being the helpless girl, but she knew there was nothing she could do. She laid back on the very uncomfortable cot, starting to fall asleep. "Please lock the door when you go. I don't like the idea of other people watching me while I sleep." She got her response as the door closed and the lock fell into place. "Thank you," she whispered as an exhaustion she didn't know she had fell over her and she fell asleep.

a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a

Brendan felt the wind in his hair, with his hat in his hand, as he and Gwen rode on the bow of Steven's luxury speedboat. They saw a cove approaching in the distance, and it was already clear that it was the Seafloor Cavern. "Well, May, we're almost there to get you to safety. Just wait a little longer." Gwen smiled as she heard him say it with such passion and determination.

They stopped over a deeper area when Steven approached from the cabin. "Alright, the cavern is below us. You should be able to dive in from here. It'll be a straight shot down." Gwen and Brendan nodded.

"Thank you for this Steven. Will you be joining us?"

"No, I'll be up here and ready to start the boat at a moment's notice," he said.

 _Then be sure to keep an eye out for a sudden downpour. That should tell you if we made it in time to stop Archie,_ Gwen said with a serious tone.

"I will." As he said this, he handed two air masks to Brendan and one to Gwen. "This is the diving gear. Just put it on and the rest of the wet suit will cover your body from there, and they already have radio communications set up between them. The third one is for May when you get her."

Brendan and Gwen both put their masks on, and true to Steven's words, a wetsuit seemed to appear from nowhere as the masks got a tight seal around their faces as air began to flow. Their feet were then covered by flippers as they got to the edge of the boat and prepared to jump in.

"Remember, either Groudon or Kyogre in their Primal form alone would be enough to bring cataclysm to Earth. Both at the same time could destroy the world as we know it. Be sure you get there in time," Steven's tone told them that there was no room for debate, not that Brendan wanted to debate that point. They simply nodded before falling back into the water, diving down immediately, and finding the cavern that had only recently been drilled by Team Aqua's submarine.

 _May, I swear I will hold you in my arms when we get you safe,_ Brendan thought.

a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a

May was currently being dragged through the caverns by Shelly, who had worked with her to make this a convincing act. They were going to let Archie get to Kyogre, but they would act to stop him as soon as they got there. This was a risky strategy, but Archie was planning to leave grunts behind as they went. He was expecting Brendan to follow them, so he wanted multiple people to stay back and at least slow him down. May and Shelly figured that he would only have himself and the two of them when they got to Kyogre. It would help immensely when they tried to stop Archie, who was proudly carrying the Blue Orb in his hand, from awakening the great beast.

The walk was very uneventful, other than the grunts being stationed around the cave, and the rooms they passed through pretty much all looked the same to her, short of some boulders in the path, or a couple rooms filled with water that had very strong currents. That near monotony came to an end as Archie dismissed the last grunt and they entered a room full of mist and small crystals that seemed to glow a light blue color. It was a beautiful, but chilling room. It gave the sense that they were close to something powerful and dangerous, yet beautiful at the same time. As they descended into the cavern, there was a looming mass of what looked like grey stone, but the details were too sharp, even for the best sculptors. Then there was the sheer size of the statue, looming at least seven feet tall, with half of it being underwater. While she couldn't confirm it with her Pokédex, there was no doubt in her mind that this was the super ancient Pokémon. The mere sight of the leviathan made her heart skip a beat with a mixture of fear and awe.

May then looked back at Shelly, who nodded as she let go of her wrists and May's hand immediately went to Miranda's Pokéball. She let out her Blaziken, who glared at Archie as he turned in shock. "What is this? Shelly, why is she not still bound, and how does she have her Pokémon? And why are you not doing anything to stop this?" he nearly shouted. Before he could get his answer, his radio sounded. "Speak, what is it?"

"Sir, this is Tom, the grunt you stationed at the entrance. The kid with the Gardevoir is already here. He swept my team and his Gardevoir put me to sleep briefly. He's likely almost to you by now." Archie cursed at this message.

"Very well, get everybody you can back to the sub and start the engine. I'm almost finished here. Over and out." He then turned to Shelly with a deep glare. "Well, have you thought of your answer? What is the meaning of this?"

Shelly sighed. "Sir, you've lost sight of what this organization should stand for. You started us as a conservation group. We worked to keep waterways clean. Now, however, you're so obsessed with this dream of expanding the ocean that you've lost your integrity. You even resorted to kidnapping a girl who only did what was right. I couldn't allow you to continue this."

Archie just glared and sent out his Sharpedo, who began to swim in the pool of water Kyogre was in. The leader of Team Aqua then grabbed his keystone, and, without saying anything, initiated a Mega-Evolution. The Sharpedo changed significantly, his fins all growing longer as he also gained multiple, yellow markings around his body. The Pokémon looked intimidating, but Miranda would be fine. After all, she had her mega evolution too. May sighed, seeing that the talking route would do no good.

"Alright, Archie, I don't hold anything personal against you…but I cannot allow you to wake Kyogre. You saw the destruction caused by Groudon, and I know you know deep down that Kyogre will only bring more destruction on that scale. So, if you refuse to admit that you're wrong, I'll just have to use force." May stood straight and lifted her wrist, touching her Keystone. Miranda's body changed into the more streamline form of her Mega Evolution. The Blaziken closed her eyes, her muscles all flexing at once as both she and May waited for their chance. What they didn't notice, however, was that the Blue Orb, which was powered by the same kind of energy a mega stone, was beginning to glow with the energy released from the mega evolution.

"Samerios, use Crunch!" Archie said, using his Sharpedo's real name. The shark Pokémon leapt from the water and began to fly toward Miranda.

May smirked and spoke calmly. "Miranda, use Sky Uppercut." Miranda opened her eyes and immediately leapt forward, her hands both glowing with energy before she leapt at Samerios, closing both hands. She then ducked just as Samerios was about to bite down on her shoulder, driving her right fist into his underbelly. The Sharpedo's mouth hung open as he fought for his breath. "Again," she said quietly. Miranda switched hands, hitting him again in the same spot on his body, making him fly back and collapse behind Archie.

May smiled and recalled Miranda as the Pokémon reverted to her normal form. That was when she heard running footsteps behind her, and she felt a very familiar, and warming presence. She barely had time to turn around before Brendan wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Despite her trying to be composed, she just hugged back and felt a tear of joy falling down her face. "I missed you, what took you so long?"

"May, I'm so sorry I didn't keep you safe. I promise I'll-" Brendan started to say, only to have May pull back and silence him with a kiss. It didn't last long, but it told Brendan all he needed to know. She always knew he would protect her, and she couldn't be happier with her choice. The moment was then cut short by a burst of energy that pushed Brendan back, only for Gwen to take his spot. While Brendan wasn't thrilled about being separated from the woman he loved, he could only laugh slightly at Gwen's actions.

 _We missed you so much, May. Please don't ever get kidnapped like that again. You're too important to us,_ Gwen said, her mental voice even making it clear that she was crying too.

"I promise you both, I will not get kidnapped again. It wasn't fun for me either," May just sighed happily after saying this.

Unfortunately, Archie had other plans as he noticed the glowing of the orb. After recalling Samerios, he wound-up to throw the Blue Orb at Kyogre. "I don't care if I lost the battle. Kyogre must awaken. I must fulfill my dream to make the world right!" Brendan saw this, and he quickly ran to try and restrain Archie, hoping to stop the throw, but it was too late. The Aqua leader let go of the stone just before Brendan tackled him.

All he could do was watch helplessly as the Blue Orb struck the leviathan and it began to glow brilliantly. Cracks began to form in the stone covering the creature, letting out a blue light. Brendan stood up shakily, looking on in awe. "Fuck…not again." Before he could say any more, Shelly slapped him to get his attention, and she looked serious.

"Get May and Gwen to the submarine, tell them to power up the engines. I'm going to try and get Archie to follow me," she seemed desperate as she said this.

Brendan just nodded. "Alright, but be sure you get out of here too, regardless of whether Archie comes with you." She seemed to agree with her expression, as she ran to Archie's side, trying to pull him with her as more of the legendary Pokémon slowly became more visible as the stone crumbled. It's body mostly seemed to be glowing a shade of blue that looked like the depths of the ocean, with white and yellow streaks along its body.

The creature began to grow to more than double in size, and the power it radiated almost made the air feel thick. Luckily, it didn't slow any of them down. But, as they were about to get to the end of the misty cavern, there was a deafening roar, which held such a primal level of power that it even caused the ceiling to start crumbling. Boulders began to crash to the floor around them. Just before they left the room, Brendan turned and was surprisingly grateful to see both Shelly and Archie running toward them. There was a massive torrent of water cascading from the ceiling now, and the water level was rising behind them. Gwen saw them as well and teleported them to her side, and all five of them made their way toward the exit. Unfortunately, it seemed they would not escape the rising water in time as they came to one of the rooms full of fast-moving water. Brendan was about to have Gwen teleport them to the other side when there was a massive earthquake, causing a weaker section of the wall began to collapse, opening to the beach where the submarine was stationed, and the engines were already running.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" May shouted. Brendan grabbed her hand and they all sprinted out, going up the gangplank as the grunts inside had it retract, and they all got below deck just as the submarine began to dive. Shelly led the group to the bridge, where she immediately ordered a full speed out of the cavern, knowing the hole they drilled in was just a straight shot out, and with the engines on this submarine they knew they should be able to escape, barring any damage. The grunts got the sub in-line with the tunnel, and hit the throttle, moving faster than would be considered safe under any other conditions. They were about halfway out of the tunnel when Kyogre broke through the ceiling of the cavern, causing three massive boulders to start to cave-in.

"Can't this thing go faster?" Brendan shouted, his fear radiating through his voice.

"No, it can't. We're already pushing it. The engines will overheat if we go any faster than we're moving now," Shelly said.

 _Oh, and what am I, chopped liver?_ Gwen said, trying to break the clear tension and fear in the room. Her eyes began to glow as she used psychic to stop the boulders from falling. Brendan and May could both tell she was struggling to hold them up, but they knew that any attempt to help would just distract her. Thankfully, the submarine's speed allowed her to gradually drop the stones as they cleared each one. Brendan, who hadn't let go of May's hand since they got on the submarine, slightly tightened his grip. May just turned to him and gave him a tight, reassuring hug.

"We will be fine," she said. That was when Gwen let the last boulder fall, blocking off the cavern, even if it hadn't already collapsed entirely. From there, they were able to escape without any further scares. At least, that was until they started to surface. Immediately, they could see that there were massive storm clouds, rain was coming down harder than anybody in the ship had ever seen, and there were multiple cyclones forming around them, and the water was swirling violently, waves reaching nearly twenty feet high. Not too far away, they watched Kyogre breach through the waves, almost flying before diving back into the water and creating a massive wave, which struck the submarine, making it rock, even while it was still mostly underwater.

Inside, the submarine was as silent as a tomb, nobody fully comprehending what they were seeing. They had been told that waking Kyogre would be what saved the world, but this looked more like the end. Archie looked the most affected, his expression was both broken and terrified. "What is this? I just thought-" Shelly slapped him hard across the face.

"YOU DID NOT THINK! If you had been thinking, you wouldn't have given that orb to Kyogre. You knew your grand plan was wrong the moment your brother woke Groudon. He's dead now, and you just went ahead with your plan because you couldn't admit you were wrong," she yelled.

"But the Blue Orb was supposed to control Kyogre. I should have been in control," he said.

This time, Brendan spoke up. "That's not even close to true. If you hadn't assaulted the old couple on Mt. Pyre to get the orb, you might have learned that the orbs control the Primal Reversion of Kyogre and Groudon. You not only woke up the second of the super ancient Pokémon, you and Maxie both gave them the key to gaining more power than most Pokémon get from a Mega Evolution."

Archie glared at him briefly, but then something in him broke, as if the weight of what he had just wrought on the world was now hitting him. Before anybody could do anything to stop him, Archie went to the hatch and hit a button to deploy an aluminum lifeboat with two oars inside. He got in and began to row out. From the bridge, Shelly looked on helplessly as the leader of Team Aqua rowed into the distance, but he did not see the massive form in the water approaching from the bow of his boat. And it was moving too fast for anybody to even react. All they could do was watch as the boat was launched into the air with a powerful Water Spout attack.

From the bridge of the submarine, Archie's body could be clearly seen flailing as he fell back to the water, but Kyogre had other plans. He breached again, this time, directly under Archie, with his mouth open. As soon as Archie landed on the Pokémon's tongue, it snapped its jaws shut and swallowed him whole.

While Brendan tried to keep himself from vomiting at the sight, Shelly was sitting in utter shock with tears falling. It was just like with Maxie. In the end, Archie's twisted goals wound up putting him in his grave.

 **Thank you all for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it. I do have a summer job, but I should still be able to write more often now, so hopefully you won't need to wait another month for the next update.**

 **As always, please leave a constructive review, and let me know what I can improve on.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18**


	40. Hope From Above

_Hope from Above_

Kyogre swam around the area for a while, building up a storm that could easily be stronger than a category five hurricane, before going northwest, which would put it on a direct collision course with Groudon in Sootopolis. It would be a clash on the level of gods when they met, and everybody in the submarine knew absolutely nothing good would come of something that destructive.

"What the hell can we do now?" Brendan said. "We have two Pokémon on the loose, each one holding the strength to destroy the planet, and there's no way to stop them."

Gwen perked up just as Brendan said that. _Steven Stone is approaching in his boat, and he has somebody else with him. I just don't recognize the other person._ Brendan looked a bit more hopeful.

"Maybe Steven has a solution," Brendan said, but his tone didn't seem to contain any optimism.

May, however, looked out the window as the boat approached and seemed very interested. "Brendan, I think I recognize the other person. It's Lisia's uncle, and the Hoenn Champion: Wallace Rain. He was also big in Pokémon contests. He wound up winning ten consecutive Grand Festivals before retiring."

Brendan and Gwen both looked up. "Wait, seriously? We should go out to meet them."

"No need. They're already coming aboard," as she said that, the hatch opened again, and the silver-haired gentleman entered, followed by a man who looked much like Lisia, or maybe it was really that Lisia looked like him. Most of his hair was covered in a white hat, except for his sideburns, which looked like two lightning bolts, and his bangs which swooped to the left and looked like sails. He was quite eccentrically dressed, with a tasseled suit, a purple undershirt that showed off his midriff, and pants that had a green belt-like addition that covered his belly button and wrapped around his hips. On his feet were white shoes that looked more like closed-toe sandals. On his back was a long, white cape with had two clasps that each draped a slightly transparent green cloth over his shoulders, reaching almost to his knees. He even had three white bracelets on each wrist, and there was a crystal that looked slightly like a keystone, but it had a different shape to it. Just from his outfit, it was now very clear where Lisia got her eccentric nature.

"May, I'm happy to see you safe," Steven said with a smile before turning to Brendan as well. "So, it seems our worst fears came true. Which is why I'm glad I took precautions and went to get a good friend of mine from Sootopolis. Wallace, if you will." Steven gestured to his friend then stepped aside.

When Wallace spoke, his deep and commanding voice gained the attention of all in the room. "So, you three are May, Gwen, and Brendan. My niece has spoken quite highly of you three." He took May's hand and gave it a kiss. She seemed more flattered by the gesture than Brendan was expecting, but he couldn't exactly blame her considering who was kissing her hand. "I am honored to meet you both…but we have more important business to discuss at the moment," he said solemnly.

"You mean Kyogre and Groudon. I'm not sure what else we can do. We don't have the strength as trainers to beat either of them, and I don't think we'll be able to catch them, even with the Master Balls I got from Shelly," Brendan said.

"Well, the Master Balls may be the only human-made item capable of containing them, so we should keep them as a fail-safe. But, there is another option: the third super ancient Pokémon, Rayquaza. It almost never leaves the ozone layer, but in the past, it was the Pokémon that stopped the conflict between Kyogre and Groudon," Wallace seemed to be speaking matter-of-factly, but Brendan could hear some slight worry in his voice. After all, what he was suggesting was a shaky plan at best. It all depended on whether Rayquaza even cared yet about Kyogre and Groudon being awake and ready to fight.

"May and I can both go find Rayquaza now. Just tell us where to look," Brendan said.

Wallace smiled. "Just the type of fearlessness I was expecting. Thankfully, you won't need to look that hard. When Rayquaza does appear before humans, it only does so at the top of Sky Pillar, a shrine near Pacifidlog that was built by a now deceased clan of humans who practically worshipped the dragon, but now only I, the region's champion, holds the key to open the tower." His face then turned back to solemn. "I should warn you, though, the other Pokémon that took residence there are far stronger than what most trainers can handle. Knowing that, will you continue?"

May looked just as determined as Brendan when she stepped forward. "We came this far, and there isn't much else we can do. Besides, I hate being in a terrible situation when I can't do anything to help with it."

Wallace nodded. "Well, I certainly understand. If you two have faster transportation than this submarine, then we should get moving to the area near Pacifidlog Town. You won't be able to miss the Sky Pillar."

Brendan and May both looked at Shelly, who still hadn't even registered that there were two more people in the submarine now, and felt guilty about leaving her like this. One of the grunts stepped forward. "Don't worry. We can take care of our lieutenant. We'll go to Sootopolis and meet you there. You three try to get whatever chance at salvation we may have."

Reluctantly, Brendan nodded and went with Wallace to the top of the submarine, followed closely by May, then Gwen. The instant they stepped out, they were assaulted by the heaviest rain they had ever seen. Many of the drops even hurt on impact. "Damn, can we really put Avery and Drake through this rain?" Brendan asked loudly, to be heard over the crashing waves.

 _Do we have any other choice? They're our best chances at making it to Sky Pillar before this mess gets worse,_ Gwen said.

"Unfortunately, I think she's right," Wallace said. A Latios and Latias may be the only Pokémon other than Rayquaza and the Pokémon of Creation that can get there fast enough," Wallace said.

While Brendan didn't like putting his Pokémon through pain like this, Wallace was right. They had no choice. He sent out Avery at the same time as May sent out Drake. Neither of them seemed too pleased with being out in this rain, but they could sense the danger and weight of the situation, so they decided to endure it.

"Drake, and Avery, we need to get to Sky Pillar as fast as possible. Can you two manage it?" May said. Avery nodded then nudged Brendan's Keystone.

"I see, you'll need to be in your mega forms. Then let's do it," Brendan said, but May beat him to it, mega-evolving Drake. Brendan followed quickly, getting Avery into her mega evolution. When both Eon Pokémon took their new forms, Brendan and Gwen got on Avery's back, while May and Wallace got on Drake's. Just as all four riders got comfortable, Avery and Drake shot off to the south, going at breakneck pace, first going south until the storm was behind them, then heading west. Brendan could already see that there was an incredibly tall building extending into the sky, but he could also see that both the storm clouds, and multiple rays of intense sunlight were expanding; the sunlight was coming from the west, and the storm from the east, and both were approaching what looked like a single volcano. Brendan looked at his PokéNav map and saw that that volcano was the location of Sootopolis City. It made Brendan curious about why that city was the location those two creatures had chosen for their clash, but it was something he'd consider later. After all, they were already about to land at Sky Pillar, and both Avery and Drake were returned to their Pokéball.

The island the massive shrine stood on was mostly barren, with sand covering most of it. The tower itself had two massive doors of stone that were sealed with what looked like a gold chain. But that chain wasn't bound by a lock. Wallace looked at both Brendan and May. "Now, this will be the tough part. While I have the key, only a descendent of the dragon clan can use it…except for a chosen trainer every generation. I am not of the dragon clan…" he pulled out what looked like a gold dragon statuette. "And the key doesn't work in my hands. Luckily, I know the only two trainers who could possibly be that chosen trainer. Brendan, May, you two are the only possible trainers who fit that description."

"W-wait, what?" May said. "How do you even know that?"

"It's because you two can achieve Mega-Evolution with your respective Eon Pokémon. That is a strong indication that you have been chosen. So, I want each of you to hold this key up to the chain. If you are the chosen trainer, it will be made clear when you do."

Brendan looked at May. "You can go first. You've earned it," he said, kissing her cheek as he said that. She nodded, then smiled at him as she walked forward and took the key in her hand. She then held up the little statue and aimed it toward the door. They waited for three minutes with nothing happening. She shook her head. "I don't feel anything, and nothing is happening," her tone sounding disappointed as she held the statuette out for Brendan. Brendan stepped forward, and he took it in his hand, then held it up to the door.

Immediately, there was an intense glowing and Brendan felt a surge of energy go through his body to the figurine. Then a focused beam of golden light extended from the key to the chain on the door. The energy began to make the chain nearly vanish into thin air. Gwen rolled her eyes. _Great, another thing that you can lord over us,_ Gwen teased.

Brendan just chuckled at her joke, but his main focus was the door as it seemed to be disappearing just like the chain did, and a loud roar of could be heard from high above them. While Brendan wanted to keep May with him for this next part, it seemed fate had other plans, as the rain from Kyogre's storm began to fall on the small island.

Wallace seemed to be nervous at this sight. "Shit, I was hoping we'd have more time to get to the top. Brendan, May, I need to get back to Sootopolis and help in whatever way I can…but I don't have a Pokémon who can get me there fast enough."

Brendan looked to May, already knowing where this was going, and he didn't like it. "You want May to go with you while Gwen and I stay here and get Rayquaza, don't you?"

Wallace looked very sympathetic, almost to the point of regretting that he needed to ask them to separate so soon after reuniting. "I wouldn't ask this if there was another way and it wasn't of the utmost importance," he said.

May turned Brendan toward her and hugged him tightly. "It's okay. I'll be safe, and I know we will see each other soon," she kissed him softly, then began to whisper. "Besides, I'd prefer to have our full reunion celebration when the world isn't being destroyed."

Brendan laughed slightly, knowing she was right. They had a job that took priority, and they could truly celebrate when that was finished. Now, they needed to make sure there would be a world to celebrate in. "May, I love you more than you'll ever know. Please don't do anything dangerous until I'm with you." She smiled and hugged a little tighter, resting her head on his chest, feeling thankful that she was shorter than Brendan by just enough so she could do this without hunching over.

As much as they wanted to stay like that, destiny was calling, so they both let go of the other. May took out Drake's Pokéball again, sending out her Eon Pokémon and Mega-Evolving him again. She and Wallace both got on and the Latios took off, rocketing north toward the titanic clash.

 _They'll be alright. We just need to do our job and hopefully Rayquaza will decide to help us. If not, then we will just need to deal with the problem ourselves,_ Gwen said as she began to pull Brendan into the tower to begin their long ascent.

* * *

When May and Wallace began to fly over the city, they could already see that the two monstrous Pokémon had done major damage to the cliffs. Thankfully, none of those cliffs appeared to have any residencies. But the real sight was the two massive Pokémon and the definitive line splitting the intense sunlight, which was causing the water around Groudon to evaporate, and the hurricane-force rain, which was keeping the water around Kyogre maintaining the water on his side of the conflict. Both the Pokémon had what looked like a very intense hatred and anger toward their counterpart.

"Wallace, what exactly are we going to do here?" May asked.

"We need to get citizens out of the main city and to the evacuation shelter. I know it won't do us much good, but it's worth a try to keep them where they'll at least feel safer," Wallace said.

May nodded. "Alright, where should we start?"

"The residential areas," Wallace made a mark on May's PokéNav map as he said that. "That's the evacuation shelter. Get people there as you find them. If you can't convince them to come, tell them Wallace is issuing the order. If it doesn't work, just move on. Don't risk your life for the stubborn."

May nodded. "I'll take the hot side of the island," she said.

"Agreed. My Pokémon thrive in water, so I'm better suited for the rainy side," Wallace said as they landed at what appeared to be the line directly between the effects of the two titanic Pokémon clashing repeatedly, which was the only spot where the rain was falling at a soothing rate, and the sunlight made it comfortable to stay outside. Under normal circumstances, May might be pulling out an umbrella, some rain gear, and a pair of tap dancing shoes so she could start acting out the famous movie scene. Now, however, there was a much more important task she needed to get done. She recalled Drake and both she and Wallace went to their separate sides of the city she could hope for now was that Brendan could get help from Rayquaza in time.

* * *

Just as May and Wallace were starting to get the citizens of Sootopolis to the evacuation shelter, Brendan and Gwen were taking a breather on one of the few floors that seemed devoid of wild Pokémon. They had already climbed sixty flights of stairs, but it seemed they still had another fifty to go. "Why the hell are there so many stairs?"

 _It's called Sky Pillar, and it was built before there was such a thing as an elevator. This is probably just as much of a test as the key to the entrance,_ Gwen said as she levitated a stone in front of her face in a circle, trying to calm her nerves with the simple practice.

"Do you think Rayquaza will even care about what Kyogre and Groudon?" Brendan said. "From what I remember hearing, those two fought for almost a millennium before the dragon did anything about it."

 _But that was when the world was still being formed. I guess the world needed it then. This was caused by two people trying to upset the balance of nature. I think Rayquaza will help us once we get to the top of this tower._

Brendan nodded and stood up, his legs feeling rested enough to continue the long climb. "I hope you're right, but we just need to find out for ourselves when we get to the top." With that, they both continued their climb, moving at a quick pace, hoping to put an end to the crisis as soon as possible.

After nearly another hour of climbing, Brendan was crawling up the last of the steps to the roof of the tower, his exhaustion evident after both climbing and battling extremely powerful wild Pokémon. "Gwen, do me a favor," he said as his Gardevoir floated up to his side.

 _What is it?_ she asked.

"Never let me climb that many stairs again…for any reason," he said.

 _Well, I can't really promise that, since I hear there are a lot of stairs in the Pokémon League's headquarters._

"Ah damn it," he said under his breath. He took his time getting to his feet, his body thoroughly hating him for climbing so many stairs at once. Just as he got to his feet, Brendan and Gwen both heard one of the most powerful roars either had ever heard, and they saw a gigantic, serpentine creature circling the tower above them. Brendan stood in awe of the creature, whose raw power could be felt from this distance, and it was already as strong as either Kyogre or Groudon. The difference was that this power felt more comforting in a way, whereas Kyogre and Groudon both had an aura that screamed the Pokémon were dangerous. "Rayquaza," was all Brendan could whisper, but even with the lowest volume he could speak, his voice still caught the attention of the green serpent.

Within a second, the legendary Pokémon had come to the triangular stand at the very peak of the tower, and its intense gaze was focused on Brendan and Gwen. It gave a low growl, making every fiber of Brendan's being vibrate in response. Gwen nodded and looked to Brendan.

 _Rayquaza knows why we're here, and he said he will help. He just needs your help with one thing. In his current state, he won't be able to even intimidate Kyogre or Groudon in their primal forms._

Brendan looked directly at the Pokémon, whose piercing yellow eyes made him feel very small. "What do you need me to do?" Rayquaza's gaze turned to Brendan's Keystone, and Brendan understood what the legendary Pokémon wanted. "Don't you need a Mega stone to do that?" Rayquaza growled lowly again.

 _He said that he is the only Pokémon who doesn't need one. Just touch the keystone and we will get to Sootopolis in no time._ Gwen said.

Without another question, Brendan lifted his arm and touched the Keystone, and immediately Rayquaza began to glow brightly. The transformation began with the four extensions at the back of Rayquaza's lower jaw and those on top of his head all extended forward so his head looked like an arrowhead. His arms both got slightly longer and thicker, and the small wings along his body extended out. Next, the yellow line and ring patterns on the sides of his body began to glow and attach to his lower jaw extensions as they began to float off his body, looking almost like contrails, and where they used to be were now black. Finally, the tips of the upper fins on his head and the wings at the end of his tail both grew their own energy contrails. When his body stopped glowing and his form became visible, an intense wind picked up, forcing Brendan to put his hat in his pocket or risk losing it altogether. With a single look from Rayquaza's now red eyes, Brendan and Gwen both walked up to the massive dragon and they started climbing onto his back, directly in front of the sky dragon's arms. Just as Rayquaza was taking off, he reached forward and grabbed both Brendan and Gwen by their legs. Immediately after grabbing them, the dragon shot off like a rocket toward Sootopolis, the incredible wind carrying them even faster than Avery and Drake could have.

 _Gwen, I think we may have just saved the entire world,_ Brendan said.

 _Maybe, we just need to see how Kyogre and Groudon react,_ Gwen said.

* * *

"Get inside, everybody!" May said as she ushered the last of the citizens of Sootopolis into the evacuation shelter, all of them either completely soaked or badly dehydrated. Thankfully, nobody had been stubborn enough to stay in their houses any longer than they needed to grab essentials. Now, even though they were all inside the safest place in the city, May wasn't sure that it would be safe enough. By now, the buildings along the white cliffs of Sootopolis were being severely damaged, some already having been destroyed completely. The two monsters, which was now the only word that May could really use to describe the two Pokémon in the center of the city's lake, seemed to be taking some time to catch their breath after their last bout, but May could tell they were about to start again. She was terrified, and she knew she couldn't do anything about it without sending her Pokémon to their deaths.

She continued to watch as she stood under the small canopy that hung over the entrance to the shelter, her fear rising as both Kyogre and Groudon began to straighten up and charge their attacks. The power from them was so great that May could feel it, and she thought that they were causing the wind to speed up. At least, that's what she thought until she sensed Gwen's presence suddenly, followed by a roar that caused Kyogre and Groudon to both stop their onslaughts altogether. She looked up and saw the clouds parting to reveal a serpentine creature that looked almost like an arrow flying at a target. The only things that ruined the nearly perfect streamline form of the Pokémon were two figures on its back. _Brendan, Gwen, you did it,_ she thought in awe, not knowing that Gwen heard her thoughts clearly. Rayquaza took up a powerful-looking posture as a massive wind made Kyogre's storm dissipate and Groudon's drought cease completely, and he let loose a single, powerful roar. The instant the sound was heard, Kyogre and Groudon both retreated, vanishing into a cave in the center of the island. Rayquaza then descended toward the evacuation shelter, letting Brendan and Gwen get off on solid ground.

"Thank you Rayquaza. We owe you, and I hope we meet again," Brendan said as he gave the dragon a light pet on the snout. Rayquaza growled contentedly, then pulled away, flying back into the upper atmosphere.

The wind died down as the sky Pokémon vanished from sight, but May couldn't have cared less. She immediately sprinted over to Brendan and knocked him to the ground with the force of her hug. "I love you so much, Brendan," she said through tears of joy.

"I love you too May," he kissed her cheek and pet her hair softly, while Gwen just smiled. She decided not to tell them that everybody in the evacuation shelter was at the windows with a video camera recording every second of what they were doing. After all, they'd see it when it went viral the next day.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Before you ask, yes I intend to have both Brendan and May battle Kyogre and Groudon in the Cave of Origin. You'll see how in the next chapter.**

 **As always, please review and give** _ **constructive**_ **criticism if you want, it will be greatly appreciated.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	41. Fighting Nature

_Fighting Nature_

Brendan and May both stood up after a few minutes of laying in puddles, only to see that the people in the shelter had come out and there was now a fleet of helicopters over the city. Most of them were from news stations, but there was a single red one with the Team Magma symbol on it, and it was flying toward the lower sections of the city where Brendan could see another entrance to the caves below Sootopolis. From the water, Team Aqua's submarine rose and went toward the same location. "Seems that we know where we're going," Brendan said as Wallace came through the crowd, putting his cell phone away after what Brendan assumed was an important call.

"That was Steven. He wants you two to meet him at the entrance to the Cave of Origin. I can lead you there…but we may take a while due to one factor," he said before gesturing to the crowd of people and the news crews that were approaching them quickly. At the front of the pack was none other than Gabby and Ty from _In Search of Trainers_.

Brendan sighed, not really looking forward to being interviewed, but May kissed his cheek to reassure him that it would be fine. Gwen just smiled at them, having felt their bond and love for each other growing stronger ever since their trio met, and she could tell there was something more on Brendan's mind at this point, but she was letting him keep his secret until he was ready. She then walked directly next to Brendan on the opposite side as May just in time, since they were soon swarmed with microphones and a cacophony of questions. Thankfully, Wallace stepped in.

"Alright, all of you, treat it as a formal press conference, hands raised and ask one at a time!" he said. "But we are also pressed for time, so they will only take a few questions for now. I will be organizing a full session for later in Ever Grande City, so save all questions for then!" The reporters went quiet and nodded respectfully, thinking about what they would ask. Gabby, however, was ready first, and Brendan was more than happy to take her question first.

"Brendan and May, I hope you remember me and Ty from our battle on Route 111 almost two months ago. Clearly you have both gotten stronger since then, but the focus today is on how you two just stopped what can only be described as a cataclysm. Could you possibly explain what was causing the terrible weather and destruction?" she asked.

May decided to start. "While it may seem unbelievable, it was the result of two legendary Pokémon being awoken: Kyogre and Groudon," she said, leaving out the part about the Primal Reversions. "Their power alone was what caused the weather to change." The reporters all raised their hands, new questions springing from that answer. Gwen picked the next reporter, this one from Vulpix News.

"You said the Pokémon that caused this were awoken, do you know what caused that?" he asked.

Brendan nodded. "Both were awoken by the former leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua. They both let their ideals cloud their judgement, and wound up unleashing a power they couldn't even hope to control. Both men are now deceased, and their lieutenants have taken over with the promise of returning to conservation efforts," he said calmly before May picked the next reporter.

"Does this incident have any connection to the eruption of Mt. Chimney that destroyed Lavaridge and parts of both Rustboro and Fallarbor?" she asked.

 _Unfortunately, yes. That incident was caused by Groudon immediately after he was awoken by Maxie of Team Magma,_ Gwen said. The reporters all nodded, and then only Gabby's hand was raised again.

"What are your plans, now that the crisis has been stopped?" she asked.

Brendan just looked at May and smiled. "We will continue to travel to get gym badges and contest ribbons. Then I will be competing in the Pokémon League tournament and May will be in the Grand Festival." With that, Wallace stepped in.

"But first, there is still something they need to help me take care of. If you all don't mind, Brendan and May need to come with me," he said. The crowd parted and allowed the four of them to walk past as they walked toward what Brendan and May both assumed to be the Cave of Origins. Gwen just floated beside them, and it seemed that they would get there just as Team Magma and Team Aqua both arrived. Steven exited the Aqua submarine, followed by Shelly, while Courtney exited the Magma helicopter, and they all gathered in the center of the isle.

Steven smiled at Brendan, May, and Gwen. "You two have already done so much to protect Hoenn…but I'm afraid we must ask something more of you."

Gwen crossed her arms and looked annoyed. _You want us to go battle Kyogre and Groudon, don't you?_

Steven cringed slightly, not having seen Gwen with an expression as angry as what she was showing now. "I'm sorry, but yes. Wallace and I need to help to make sure the city and the residents are all safe."

Brendan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, but this is the last time for a long time that I help with something like this, got it?" May seemed to nod in agreement with Brendan.

"Agreed. I've been kidnapped twice, and now we're being asked to go up against the literal embodiments of the forces of nature. I don't want to do that again after this…not that we want to do it now either."

Steven nodded. "I don't blame you. In the past few months, you two have been through more than most people have in their lifetime. After this, you deserve a rest from risking your lives, and hopefully it will be more than just a rest."

That was when Shelly and Courtney stepped forward, Shelly speaking first. "We know that we caused this, so, let us help you make it right. Brendan, do you still have what I gave you back at the base?"

Brendan reached into his bag and pulled out the two Master Balls. "Yeah, you want me to give one to May? I was planning on that anyway," he smiled and handed one to her.

That's when Courtney came forward. "Problem is, Master Balls are still freshly out of the prototype phase of development. The test subjects were never Pokémon on the level as Kyogre and Groudon in terms of power, let alone their primal forms. There's no telling if they'll even activate if those two aren't worn down from battle. So, you'll need to fight them with everything you have, and wear them down before attempting to use the Master Balls. We need to take every precaution to make sure they work."

"So, we need to put not only our lives, but those of our Pokémon at risk?" Brendan said.

Everybody winced, knowing that was exactly what they had asked, but they didn't want to put it into words. That's when Wallace stepped forward. "I know how much you both love and cherish your Pokémon. But if we don't stop those two giants now, nobody will survive the next onslaught. Even Rayquaza can't stop their fighting indefinitely.

May nodded. "We understand…Brendan, we might as well stop debating it and get it over with."

Brendan hesitantly nodded. "Alright, I think it would be best if we battled both Kyogre and Groudon at the same time so that we don't lose more time than we need to."

"Which one will you take on?" May asked, already knowing that he'd take the one he felt was more dangerous.

"I'm going for Groudon. I don't want you anywhere near that lava monster," he said.

"Okay, then I guess I'm going for Kyogre," May said with a shrug as they began to walk toward the entrance of the Cave of Origin, but Steven stopped them before they got too far."

"Don't forget to actually challenge them. The legends say they're very proud creatures, and if you openly challenge them to a battle, they should give you a fair fight. Keep that in mind."

Brendan nodded. "Thank you. Let's hope the legends are right, otherwise you may not see us come back," he said. "If we don't, then let our families know we love them." With that, Brendan, May, and Gwen all entered the cave.

As the door closed behind them, Steven and Wallace both looked after them. "Godspeed you two," Wallace said.

"They'll comeback. With their skill, I wouldn't be surprised if Brendan takes your title soon," Steven said.

"You mean the title you deserve to have. You stepped down because you felt you got too strong. Not the best reason, if you ask me," Wallace said.

"My friend, I gave you that title because new trainers should have an achievable goal. Besides, I can't run Devon while also being the Champion."

"I suppose that's true," Wallace said as they all fell silent, knowing that the fate of Hoenn now rested completely in the hands of Brendan and May.

* * *

 _And now we're at the last fork in the road,_ Gwen said with a small pout. To the left, the walls of the cave were lined with glowing red crystals, while the right side had glowing blue crystals. It was obvious to them which way they needed to go for their respective battles.

"Alright, I guess we should get to our battles now," May said.

Brendan nodded silently, his mind now debating something he'd been considering for a while now, but he'd always thought it was too soon. Now, considering the circumstances and that he may not get another chance, he decided to go with his gut. He reached out and grabbed May's arm before she got too far, earning a surprised look from her.

"Wait, May, I have to ask you something," he said, his nervousness clear in his voice.

She looked a bit confused, so she turned to face him directly. "What is it?" She saw Gwen smiling behind him, but if she knew what he was going to say, and she wasn't saying it first meant that it was very important.

"I know that we've only known each other for less than a year, and I know we're both younger than twenty, but considering how much we've been through together, I think now is the best for me to ask this," Brendan looked her in the eye directly, and showed her the strong emotion behind what he was about to say as he lowered himself to one knee. "May Birch, I don't have a ring, but will you please…marry me?"

May was stunned, to say the least. She certainly loved Brendan, but was she really ready to commit to that level of a relationship with anybody? But, she had to agree that after everything they had been through, just the thought of being with Brendan for the rest of their lives made her feel a sense of euphoria that she had never known before. And the thought of one day raising a family with him made her even happier than words could describe. All of these emotions came together into the only, tearful response she could say. "Yes, I will marry you, because we will survive this and we will make it to our dreams together. Just promise me one thing," she said, the tears of joy falling freely, when Brendan stood up, she kissed him softly and pulled away. "Promise that you will love me for the rest of our lives together."

"Of course, if I couldn't do that, I wouldn't be wasting your time with this," Brendan leaned in and gave her another kiss. "Now, want to go save the world?"

"Of course. Let's do it like bad-asses," May said, making Brendan laugh at her tone. That was when Gwen joined in the moment with a tight hug.

 _Don't forget that I'm pretty much the PokéAunt to your future kids,_ she said with a smile.

May laughed harder there, her smile showing that she loved this moment and didn't want it to end. But, fate was calling them elsewhere for now. So, she decided then and there that she would show him just how much he meant to her.

"Well, let's get these battles over with," Brendan said. "Then we can be together tonight." May just gave him a brief kiss before they parted ways and walked to their battles.

* * *

Brendan and Gwen were steadily feeling the heat increasing as they got lower into the cave, almost getting as hot as the inside of Mt. Chimney had been. Brendan was already sweating while Gwen was making a heat shield of sorts for herself, though it wasn't as effective as she would have liked it to be.

 _So, we're about to fight the embodiment of magma and continental expansion, and we're supposed to win, right?_

"Yeah, we don't really have many other options," Brendan said as they got to the entrance to a massive cavern that glowed with lava from below. Just inside, they both saw the head of the massive legendary Pokémon, which appeared to be almost asleep, like it was still recovering from the battle with Kyogre. _This could be perfect timing. We won't be battling it at full strength._

 _I wouldn't count on that. We still need to battle a force of nature,_ Gwen said. Brendan just nodded, knowing she was right about that much. So, before he could stop himself with doubt, he stepped forward and raised his voice. "Groudon, I challenge you to a battle!" Brendan's voice was stronger sounding than he expected it to be. Groudon, however, was slow to even open his eyes in response. When it looked at Brendan, the Pokémon just seemed to sigh, and straighten itself before positioning itself closer to him, leaning in closer. Brendan came face to eye with the massive Pokémon, who seemed to be getting a read on his power as a trainer, the heat coming from its body making Brendan sweat more than he ever had before, and Gwen's heat shield was straining to keep her from overheating.

Groudon nodded, as if to tell Brendan "Give it your best shot." Brendan reached for his belt and picked out Jack's Pokéball, sending out the Camerupt quickly. He figured that Jack would be faster than the behemoth, and his typing might help a little in the battle with another fire and ground type.

"Alright, Jack, use Stone Edge!" Brendan's command was firm, yet his tone showed an edge of urgency. Jack stomped hard, sending multiple pillars of jagged rocks out from the pathway they were standing on, striking Groudon in the chest. The entity of magma seemed to stagger slightly, but a fierce look appeared in his eyes. He swung his hand and struck the ground, sending multiple thick, but sharp pillars of stone from the ground from directly under Jack, knocking out the Camerupt in one hit.

Brendan was beyond stunned at the sheer power behind the Stone Edge…no, it wasn't a Stone Edge. This was a far more powerful attack. He had no idea what it was, but it was something fitting of a Pokémon of this caliber. To fight this, he needed to use something with strategy and smart battling. So, he pulled out Turk's Pokéball next and threw it, letting out the water type.

 _Brendan, be careful, I don't know if this is going to work like any other Pokémon battle,_ Gwen warned.

"I know," Brendan said. "Turk, use a Water Pulse!" The Crawdaunt tried to gather water at Brendan's command, but just as quickly as the orb formed, it evaporated.

 _It's the heat and its ability are causing this. I doubt water attacks can touch him._

 _Groudon is a fire and ground type, and water is our best chance at beating him. How the hell are we supposed to beat him now?_ Brendan scowled slightly. "Alright, Turk, let's change out tactics. Try Swift!"

The star on Turk's head began to glow before firing a stream of star-shaped beams at Groudon. The monstrous Pokémon seemed to roll his eyes before opening his mouth and firing a gigantic Solar Beam. Swift hit its mark, but Turk had no way to avoid the incoming beam. His best chance would have been Aqua Jet, but that wasn't possible in these conditions. The Solar Beam hit hard, and Brendan physically felt the pain Turk felt. _I'm sorry Turk, I promise your effort won't be wasted._ When the dust settled, Brendan saw that Turk was struggling to stay up. It was obvious that the crustacean's pride was what kept it from falling. Brendan was truly touched by what he saw, but he couldn't bear to see his Pokémon like this.

"Turk, come back, please. You've done enough!" Brendan said, the crustacean seemed unhappy with being called back, but he couldn't get the strength to stand back up and resist. Brendan knew this would hurt Turk's pride, but it was better to fix that small issue than to let his friend be one of the few Pokémon to die from a battle. After all, it was well-known that the loss of his Raticate nearly drove the legendary trainer, Blue to insanity.

With Turk safe, Brendan then began to strategize more. He couldn't beat Groudon with water, its greatest weakness, and it had power beyond anything he had imagined. So, he decided he needed sheer power to combat that. He grabbed Nikki's Pokéball and threw it, letting out the massive sloth-ape Pokémon. Nikki just stretched before the heat made her take on an uncomfortable look. "Nikki, I know it's hot, but we don't have a choice, we need to battle now. I promise you'll get a lot of rest after this." Nikki nodded, and stood with one fist on the ground. Her eyes gleamed with determination as she waited for Brendan's command. "Use Crush Claw!"

Nikki leapt toward Groudon, her hands glowing as she punched the magma golem across the face, doing some serious damage, and causing it to release a purple aura, indicating a loss in defense. Groudon, however, just looked annoyed as he arched his back and let loose with a massive Lava Plume attack. He then simply punched Nikki, sending her back onto the stone path Brendan and Gwen were standing on, just to be doused with the incoming magma. She fell to her knees and tried to shake off the lava, but Groudon decided to end it there. He slammed his fist onto the ground again, creating the more powerful version of Stone Edge, sending Nikki flying into the air. Groudon then caught her and slammed her into the ground again. When he removed his massive hand, Nikki was in a heap, her body seeming to shiver despite the heat. Brendan didn't hesitate to recall her.

He now had only three choices: Gwen, Avery, and Clint. And against this type of power, Brendan needed to play it smart, especially since those three were all able to Mega-Evolve. Brendan needed to pick the right one for this battle, but he couldn't jump the gun on it either. This next decision could easily decide the direction of this battle.

Gwen put a hand on his shoulder. _I think Clint will be a good choice now. He's got the speed to dodge the attacks, and he's got attacks to counter Groudon's ground type._

 _True, but he's also weak against Groudon's fire type,_ Brendan said.

 _Well, we don't have many other choices for this,_ she said.

Brendan nodded, taking Clint's Pokéball off his belt and sent out the grass raptor. Thankfully, it seemed that the Pokémon enjoyed the high heat around them. Brendan figured this would help with the battle to an extent.

"Clint, start this with a Dragon Pulse!" Brendan said. Clint reared back and fired a bright stream of energy, hitting Groudon in his chest. Brendan smiled when he saw Groudon stagger even farther than he had from Jack's Stone Edge. That was short-lived as Groudon fired three massive Fire Blasts at Clint. Without Brendan needing to say anything, Clint sprinted out of the way, then used the heat to fire off a Solar Beam of his own.

Brendan was partly surprised at how well Clint was doing. After all, he had been on Brendan's team for just as long as Gwen had been. But the level Groudon was at was nearly unbelievable. Even with the skill Clint had, the other Pokémon in his party had at least been on par with the Sceptile, yet they had been almost rag-dolled by the legendary Pokémon. But, he couldn't just sit back and admire his Pokémon's work.

"Alright, Clint, use Solar Beam again!" Brendan said. Clint fired another stream of solar energy at Groudon, who fired his own Solar Beam to counter. The difference was that Groudon's was much larger than Clint's. The two beams collided, and began to fight for dominance. Brendan, however, had a different idea. "Dodge and use Leaf Storm!" Brendan said. Clint stopped his attack as he spun to the side enough to let the beam pass and land behind him before whipping his tail around and throwing a massive cyclone of leaves at Groudon, hitting the legendary Pokémon's face.

Groudon seemed to take some damage from the attack, but when he glared at Sceptile, Brendan knew that he was done holding anything back. The giant Pokémon closed its fist and had fire gather around it before punching Clint hard, his fist alone being as tall as Clint's entire body. Clint then flew almost out the same corridor from which Brendan and Gwen had entered. When he struck the wall, Brendan knew immediately that Clint was out of the battle. He recalled the Sceptile, and immediately went with his gut this time, choosing Avery's Pokéball next and sending out the Eon Pokémon.

Avery, unlike usual, did not try to play with Brendan, fully grasping the importance of this battle. She looked back at Brendan, nodding to tell him that she trusted him completely for this battle. With her superior speed, she knew she'd be able to at least out maneuver Groudon, if not outright defeat him.

"Avery, use Mist Ball!" Brendan said. A ball of fluffy down gathered with a light blue aura in front of Latias before she fired off the shot. She hit her mark and made the titan stagger again, and another purple aura came off the Pokémon, this time for a drop in special attacking power. As much as he wanted to smile at the step forward, Gwen reminded Brendan that they hadn't won yet, so he remained focused. Avery then began fly around Groudon at speeds the beast couldn't hope to match, trying to buy some time for Brendan to strategize. Thankfully, she didn't need to do that for a long time. "Use Calm Mind, then use Psychic!"

Avery began to glow with a green aura as she flew, increasing her special abilities. That aura then turned blue as Avery gripped the titan of the continents. She knew her opponent would be way too heavy to lift, so she settled for a very tight grip that slowly got tighter. Groudon roared out in protest, but that shifted to anger as he let loose another primal version of Stone Edge, this time sending the pillars up in a ring around himself, hoping to hit Avery with at least one.

Unfortunately for Brendan and for Avery, that hope was fulfilled, as Avery's right wing was clipped by a pillar, cutting the skin and nearly shattering the bone. The Eon Pokémon cried out in pain with the hit, and only barely made it back to Brendan before collapsing onto the ground, her expression showing that she was in a great deal of pain. Brendan put their foreheads together, trying to soothe her. "You did very well, Avery, and I know you have a lot of spirit, but I cannot let you get hurt any more than you already have. I promise, you'll get the best healing once we all get back." With that, he recalled Avery. Now, it was just Gwen and himself standing against Groudon. He didn't even need to say anything for Gwen to float out.

 _Are we going Mega?_ Gwen asked.

 _I don't think we have any other choice,_ Brendan said as he held up the ring and put his hand to the keystone. Gwen's Gardevoirite began to glow with Brendan's keystone, and once the streams of light connected, she began to transform, taking on her mega form. Now, she was fully ready.

 _Alright, you have a plan?_ Gwen asked.

 _You remember when we first battled Maxie and Aesir?_ Brendan asked.

 _You mean a stall and power-up tactic? I don't know how long I can stall with Groudon, but I can try,_ Gwen smirked as she began to make copies of herself with double team. Soon enough, the copies were flooding the walkway, but Groudon seemed to not care. Instead, he just fired off a Lava Plume. Gwen tried to ignore it and continue making copies of herself, teleporting between them as she started using Calm Mind. Gwen only barely dodged Lava Plume attack. _Okay, I managed to get two Calm Minds off. Do you think that's enough?_ Gwen asked.

 _If you can manage it, get one more, then use Hyper Voice,_ Brendan said. Gwen nodded and created more copies while using an additional Calm Mind. Groudon decided to use what Brendan now realized was his signature attack, slamming his fist down and sending more stone pillars at Gwen, but she managed to dodge with a Teleport, timing it well, but not well enough. In a flash of painful memory, Gwen's left arm was hit with a pillar, and she knew immediately that it was broken. _Ow, damn it,_ Gwen said before she shrieked loudly, the pink soundwave striking harder than any of the previous attacks any of Brendan's other Pokémon had used before. And, thankfully, it made Groudon slump over to catch his breath. Brendan wasted no time in taking the lone Master Ball off his belt and activating it.

"Groudon, sorry it came to this, but I have to do this to protect the world," Brendan said this as he made his throw, the ball hitting perfectly on Groudon's head, pulling him in and falling back to the walkway, where it began to shake. Brendan held his breath, hoping the Silph Company hadn't just been exaggerating the strength of their prototype Pokéball. Surely enough, though, the Master Ball stopped and sparks appeared around it. The capture was complete. All Brendan could to was walk over and breathe a heavy sigh of relief. He'd made it through the battle. Now, he just had to hope May had done as well as he had.

* * *

After parting with Brendan and Gwen, May was flustered from the proposal to say the absolute least. She had just said yes to marrying Brendan, all while feeling like the day he had appeared in her room while she wore nothing but a towel had only been yesterday. It was honestly funny how fast time had seemed to pass for their journey, but at the same time, it was frightening. She was still only…going to be nineteen in a few days, since she just realized that it was April 25, her birthday being on May 1.

"Well, this is one hell of a birthday gift," May said to herself with a smile. Even if she felt some uncertainty, it was overwhelmed by her happiness and excitement. Now, however, she needed to get focused on what she had to do now, especially since she could see the entrance to the cavern where she could see the massive leviathan Pokémon almost sleeping. "I guess this is it." The cave itself was massive, with mist filling it completely.

She stepped into the cave and spoke loudly. "Kyogre, I challenge you to a battle!" She didn't waver as the massive Pokémon opened its eyes, and regarding her with almost disinterest before he began to swim around the area, showing that he had accepted her challenge.

May then noticed that it was almost raining inside the cave. She knew she'd be soaked to the bone by the time this battle was over, but the less restrained side of her felt she could use it with Brendan later.

 _No, focus, stop thinking like that!_ May thought before she grabbed Asteroth's Pokéball, sending out the Spiritomb. The Pokémon almost hissed as he appeared, but Kyogre seemed to continue his disinterested look. "Alright, let's start this off strong. Thunderbolt!" May called.

Asteroth's body seemed to crackle with electricity before it spiraled out toward the leviathan. The attack hit its mark, causing the Pokémon groan in protest. It then dove under the water, staying there for a while before leaping out, firing four massive torrents of water, each with about the same force of a Hydro Pump attack. The attack pummeled Asteroth, and the Forbidden Pokémon almost howled in protest. When the water stopped flooding in, Asteroth had retreated into his Keystone, fainting from the heavy water pressure alone. May didn't know what to say.

 _What the hell was that attack? I've never seen anything like that,_ May wasn't sure what to think as she recalled her Spiritomb. _Well, if it has that kind of power, then I may need to weaken it slightly with a status condition._ With that thought, she threw Lily's Pokéball, letting out the Beautifly.

"Lily, I need you to use Stun Spore as fast as you can!" May's voice conveyed the importance of the situation. Lily flew over the giant Pokémon and sprinkled a cloud of yellow dust over the Pokémon. The "rain" from the cave's ceiling was actually helping to speed up the delivery of the powder, and even mixing it slightly with the surrounding water in the cavern. It was very diluted, but May knew it would have to do for now. She'd let Kyogre gather a paralysis status over time, then he'd hopefully be weak enough to catch.

Kyogre, however, wasn't going to have any of that right now. Suddenly, there was a massive chill in the air as Kyogre leapt from the water and fired off what May could only guess was a Sheer Cold attack. Unfortunately, the attack hit its mark and Lily plummeted to the ground, fainting as she landed. May sighed and called back her Pokémon, considering her next move. _Perhaps a water type is needed,_ she grabbed Graham's Pokéball and sent out the Pelipper.

"Graham, hit him with Super Sonic!" May said. The pelican Pokémon shrieked at an extremely high pitch, the sound waves hitting Kyogre, who looked almost unaffected, but he also had a new look of disorientation. _Alright, that should make it easier to face him._ Kyogre leapt from the water, gathering what looked like another quadruple hydro pump, only for it to explode in the legendary's face, sending him back into the water, creating a large wave, which rolled completely across the platform May was standing on, soaking her shoes and feet completely. _Damn it. I hate having wet socks._

May then looked to Graham. "Alright, use Stockpile as many times as possible." Graham then began glowing lightly, gathering energy in his bill and increasing his defensive abilities. Kyogre, who now seemed to have shaken off his confusion, gathered energy as rocks began to come off the walls. _Oh no, is that Ancient Power?_ Before she could answer that question, Kyogre did it for her, throwing the rocks as a scarlet aura surrounded him, indicating an increase in all of his abilities. The attack hit Graham, and buried him under the stones. Kyogre then used an Aqua Tail to clear the stones and let May see that her Pokémon was knocked out.

May recalled Graham, gritting her teeth in frustration before sending out Erza. The Lairon seemed to be very ready to battle. May was happy to see that, knowing it would prove vital to winning the battle in the end. "Use Shock Wave!" May said, hoping to hit Kyogre with a super-effective attack to speed things up. As Kyogre was swimming around the area, Erza picked her shot and fired, sending out a wave of electricity in all directions except at May. The leviathan was unable to dodge the incoming attack, so he chose to counter it by firing another quadruple hydro pump, and breaking through the electricity and just barely missing Erza and hitting the ground around her. Erza looked a bit angry as her attack failed, so, with a roar of defiance, she began to glow brightly, slowly gaining a bipedal stance, horns growing from her head and her tail growing much longer. Her front legs shrunk to look more like arms, and her plating seemed to get thicker.

When the glowing ceased, May saw Erza had evolved into an Aggron. This was a literal game changer for this battle. "Alright, Erza, use another Shock Wave. Let's see if Kyogre can counter this now!"

Kyogre heard her, however, and he decided he wanted none of it. So, just as Erza was about to fire her next attack Kyogre leapt from the water and fired another quadruple hydro pump, and this time his aim was true. Erza roared slightly, but she managed to power through the attack, and she fired off another Shock Wave, hitting Kyogre just before he got back into the water. Erza, however, could not continue and she collapsed from exhaustion. Even with the boost of an evolution, the Aggron could not match Kyogre's power.

May recalled Erza and made a decision on her next Pokémon, sending out Drake. Unknowingly, she had followed Brendan's thought process in saving her first Pokémon for the last part of the battle.

Drake looked determined, and was definitely exuding an aura of confidence. He then decided to fire off a Thunderbolt without May needing to say anything. This one was significantly more powerful than what came from Asteroth, but Kyogre saw it coming, diving underwater and narrowly dodging the attack. So, Drake fired another one, hitting the water and hoping it was salt water. If it wasn't, then the attack was just wasted. Kyogre then leapt from the water like a bullet, slamming into Drake as he passed overhead, dealing some damage to himself with his Double-Edge attack. The Latios, however, was more durable than that. He would not yield just because of a few bruises.

"Alright, try a Dragon Pulse!" May shouted as Drake flew around the cave, keeping pace with the knots Kyogre was swimming at. With his body glowing slightly, Drake fired a powerful Dragon Pulse at Kyogre's back, making the Sea Basin Pokémon roar in protest before he dove under again, only to leap back up and fire off a Sheer Cold at point-blank range, knocking out the blue Eon Pokémon instantly. May wasted no time in recalling the Pokémon from the air. She was now down to only Miranda, who had a major type disadvantage. Nonetheless, May sent out her Blaziken. With a grunt of confidence from Miranda, May decided that she needed a mega-evolution to make sure she won this.

She hit her keystone, unknowingly at the exact same time Brendan hit his to mega-evolve Gwen, and Miranda's Blazikenite started to glow, linking with the glowing keystone as she swiftly took her streamline mega form. May smiled and Miranda turned toward her trainer, nodding with confidence. Sure, they might be in a bad situation, but they had turned around worse together.

"Alright, bide your time, and once he surfaces, use Sky Uppercut. That should be enough," May said calmly, her hair now matted down by the pseudo rain. Surely enough, Kyogre had chosen that moment to try and use the quadruple hydro pump again. But, Miranda was far too fast for him to match as she leapt at him and, with her fists glowing, punched the massive fish in the underbelly. Kyogre grunted loudly, but May decided that enough was enough. She was cold, she was soaked, and she just wanted to hold her boyfriend…no, her fiancé, for the rest of the night. So, as Kyogre was briefly airborne, May grabbed the Master Ball and threw it at Kyogre. The massive sea creature was pulled inside, and the ball landed on the slightly drier land. It rolled around briefly, only for sparks to fly an instant later.

Not really feeling the overwhelming sense of excitement at the capture, May just breathed a sigh of relief as Miranda returned to her normal form and was recalled to her Pokéball. After picking up the Master Ball on the ground, May began the trek back through the cave to the fork where Brendan had proposed.

* * *

As both trainers rounded the last corner that had blocked their view of the junction, they both broke out into bright smiles, May running across the path and leaping into Brendan's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"We did it. It's finally over, and we can finally go back to just having fun on our journey," she whispered happily as she kissed his cheek.

Brendan just sat on a nearby rock that was shaped conveniently like a stool, and was soon embraced by Gwen too, even with one of her arms hanging limply by her side. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. After all, May had said everything that needed to be said in that moment.

 **Hey everybody, hope you didn't mind that wait too much.**

 **As always please leave a review with some constructive criticism, as it will help me improve for next chapter.**

 **Now for a quick announcement. I know it's been a while since I had the OC submission for this story (and later canceled it due to countless bad submissions), and even with the select few who stood out as good characters, I've decided I will be making my own OCs for the League battles. Sorry if this is disappointing to some of you, but as that part of the story draws closer, I am realizing that it will be next to impossible to use the good submissions as simple filler characters, because they seem to deserve a story all their own, and I will be damned if I use a bad character in this story.**

 **Anyway, with that out of the way, next chapter's topic was hinted at in this chapter. Figure it out from there. Until next time – Jmoul18**


	42. The Joy of Life

**I know, I don't typically have author's notes at the top of my chapters, with one exception in this story. So, you can probably guess where this chapter is leading. There will be a light lemon scene again, and this is the last time for this story.**

 _The Joy of Life_

Through the battles, Wallace, Steven, and every member of Team Aqua and Team Magma could feel all the powerful tremors, and they all seemed to be holding their breath collectively as they waited for the battles to end. When the tremors finally stopped, they all began to wait on baited breath, unsure if Brendan and May had been victorious, or if they had been defeated. It took about ten minutes, during which time Brendan and May were telling each other what they'd experienced in their battles, but they kept it brief, knowing that their Pokémon needed to be healed as soon as possible. When the doors to the Cave of Origin finally opened, everybody breathed with relief, and Steven ran up to the trio as they walked out of the cavern. Gwen looked worse for wear, and her shoulder was heavily bruised.

"Is it over?" Steven asked, keeping it simple.

"Yeah, it's over," Brendan said as both he and May held up the now filled Master Balls. "I got Groudon, May has Kyogre."

Steven nodded. "I see, and it looks like it took everything you had."

May nodded this time. "Yes, it was like fighting a storm for us…we only barely won. And it was only because we were lucky."

Steven looked at Gwen, and realized that her arm definitely needed immediate medical attention. "Alright, I'm going to take you guys to my personal wing of the Pokémon Center here. It has its own doctor and nurse, and they're some of the best in the region," he said.

Brendan seemed to perk up a bit at that suggestion. "Really? That'd be great," his voice, however, seemed to show his thorough exhaustion with the whole experience more than excitement, and May's face showed it as well.

Steven started to lead the way out of the grove. Wallace stopped them briefly before they left. "I'll be in contact in a few days. You two should take that time for some rest and relaxation," he said. Brendan and May just nodded and continued to follow Steven to the Pokémon Center, only taking about twenty minutes to get there. When they walked in, a nurse immediately walked up to greet them.

"Hello Mr. Stone. It's a pleasure to see you again. How may we be of service to you?" She asked.

"I'm having two of my friends stay here for a few days. They just had some very intense battles and their Pokémon need to treatment," he said, gesturing to Gwen as an example, the bruise having gotten worse as they walked.

The nurse looked to Brendan and May. "Alright, please give me all your Pokémon, and I will take them to the healing area for the doctor to start healing them." Brendan and May both removed their Pokéball belts and handed them to the nurse. "What Pokémon do you two have?"

"I have a Sceptile, a Slaking, a Crawdaunt, a Camerupt, a Gardevoir, and a Latias," Brendan said. The nurse seemed to perk up slightly at the mention of Avery.

"And I have a Blaziken, a Beautifly, a Pelipper, an Aggron, a Spiritomb, and a Latios," May said. The nurse once again seemed surprised at the mention of an Eon Pokémon.

"Alright, we'll assess their injuries and let you know when they'll be fully healed. We can call to the residence area when we finish the assessment to let you know how long their healing will take.

Brendan nodded. "I think I should mention that just battled the two Pokémon that were battling out in the middle of the lake earlier." The nurse looked like she was about to faint when he said that.

"Why in the name of Arceus would you put yourselves or your Pokémon through that?" she said as she took their Pokéballs and belts.

"Ask him later," May said as she pointed to Steven. "He'll explain it." They then walked with the thoroughly confused nurse to the treatment rooms, where they saw the doctor seemingly waiting for them to call for her. She had short brown hair, a curvy figure, and slightly tanned skin. She seemed to give off a reassuring aura that told Brendan and May their Pokémon would be in good hands.

"Hello, you two, I am Dr. Alicia Reynolds, and it seems I'll be caring for your Pokémon. I promise you that no matter how long it takes, we will have your Pokémon fully healed and in peak condition. In the meantime, please enjoy the residence as long as you'd like," she shook hands with both May and Brendan before taking the Pokéballs with her. With that, May and Brendan both gave Gwen a gentle hug, taking care to not cause her any pain.

 _I'll be okay. I'll see you both in about two days,_ she said.

Brendan nodded. _I'll stop by to make sure you're doing alright tomorrow morning._ He gave her one more hug before letting her go with Dr. Reynolds.

The nurse then led them to the other side of the wing where she opened a door, revealing a huge room with a king-sized bed, and a bathroom easily big enough for at least twenty people to fit comfortably.

"Well, thank you for your help," May said to the nurse.

"Of course, I'm happy to help in any way," she said. May just smiled and whispered something in the nurse's ear, before the woman left the young couple and closed the door behind her. That was when May turned to Brendan, her smile telling him that she had something more on her mind than just resting for their time here.

"You know, I'm really cold, and I feel like we could both use a hot shower, why don't we go together and…have some fun?" May said, pulling Brendan close, her eyes looking more than seductive. "After all, we really should celebrate not dying today."

Brendan kissed her, holding her waist gently. "I think that's a good idea." He let May take him by the hand and pull him into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind them. May slid her hands under Brendan's shirt, slowly lifting it off her new fiancé. Together, they threw it to the side, letting it fall and not caring about where it landed. Brendan began to then pull off May's shirt the same way, pausing as his hands brushed over the soft fabric of her bra, cupping her breasts lightly. "I love you so much," he said softly as he continued to lift her shirt off, revealing May's sky-blue bra.

"I love you too, and I know we'll be happy together. I honestly can't wait to call myself your wife one day," she said as she began to take off Brendan's belt and his pants, showing his ruby red boxers. Brendan followed suit as he pulled off May's shorts, revealing a sapphire blue pair of panties.

Brendan was once again impressed by how smooth her skin was as he moved his hand along her toned waist and to her very well-endowed derriere, putting his hand under her panties as she held her hands on his chest. "Do you like what you're feeling?" May asked as she intentionally arched her back to better fill his hands.

"Absolutely, I just want to experience all of you," he said softly as he kissed her softly before reaching up and unhooking her bra and letting it fall to the ground, holding her closer as she pressed her breasts against his chest and kissed his neck. Brendan then reached over and turned on the shower's hot water, letting it heat up and build steam.

"Well, want to take the final pieces off?" She asked as she started to pull off his boxers. Brendan was more than happy to oblige as he took off May's panties at the same time, leaving them both completely exposed.

Brendan stopped for a moment. "I should get some protection first," he said, but May stopped him.

"No, my period just ended, and I want you completely. No obstructions, just you," May said as she pulled him into the shower with her, closing the glass door behind them. She then turned and grabbed the bottles of shampoo and body wash. "Why don't we get clean before getting dirty?" she smirked as she said that.

Brendan took her shampoo and began to scrub her hair deeply, getting her to moan softly as she pressed her posterior back, letting his length push between her toned thighs. "You know, I didn't think it was possible, but I think you're even more beautiful than you were at the hot springs in Lavaridge," he said.

May blushed. "You're a bit of a romantic, aren't you?"

"I try," he said with a confident tone, making her smile and giggle a little as he took a detachable showerhead and began rinsing out her hair and watching as the water ran down her chest and back, making her body almost glisten, Brendan couldn't help himself, seeing his girlfriend's gorgeous body. He just grabbed the body wash and got to work washing her entire body, rubbing her breasts for a while before moving to her lower body, hitting all her most sensitive spots. That was when his hand found her clit, and her legs almost turned to jelly.

"And when did you get so good at this?" she said with a light moan behind her voice.

"I don't know, I guess I just know you better now," Brendan said softly, before he led her to a stone bench along the wall, and sat her down, before laying her down and spreading her legs. "Let me show you what else I can do," he said as he knelt and lightly squeezed, getting a slight moan from her. That moan turned breathless immediately when he gave her folds a lick.

"Oh Arceus, keep doing that, it feels amazing!" she said breathlessly. Brendan was more than happy to comply, the amazing taste of her juices driving him crazy as he kept licking quickly.

"You're so sweet," Brendan said softly. "You must've been eating a lot of fruit recently."

May blushed, knowing that Brendan was right, since Team Aqua had just given her Pinap Berries and Oran Berries with bread while they held her captive. That was probably what Brendan was tasting now. Brendan's tongue then flicked over her clit, and all sense went out the window for her. "Oh, that feels soooo good!" Brendan took that as his cue to keep licking that same spot. It didn't take long for May to feel herself getting to the edge of an orgasm.

Brendan put his lips around her mound and was rewarded with a loud moan as May's body went into the throes of her pleasure, her folds now dripping with her own juices, which Brendan happily lapped up. After she was satisfied with his work, May decided it was time to return the favor. In a quick move, she managed to put Brendan on his back where she had been, and she now knelt between his legs, licking the shaft in front of her before wrapping her mouth around him, enjoying his length, and earning a deep moan from her fiancé.

In school, she had heard the more promiscuous girls talk about how they disliked pleasuring their boyfriends orally, but she now had to outright disagree with them. She loved this feeling, and she could tell Brendan did too. This was all the reason she needed to continue, bobbing her head as she enjoyed his length and wrapped her tongue around him.

Brendan was sitting in heaven now. His mind was nearly lost in euphoria, save the one part of his mind that knew he wouldn't last long. She was too good at this, and her tongue playing with him like he was a toy only made that process faster.

He came to the edge of his pleasure in less than three minutes, and May felt him tensing. She kept going, wanting to taste more of him. When he could hold it back no longer, Brendan let himself go, and May moaned around him, enjoying the flavor before she swallowed and pulled her mouth off.

"Well, that was a pleasant surprise for both of us," Brendan said breathlessly.

"There's more where that came from," May said as she winked, seeing that Brendan was ready for round two. She turned toward the glass wall, bending over to present herself to the one she loved. "Why don't we go a bit further." Brendan stood up and walked to his fiancée, putting himself into position and giving a slight thrust to enter her. The instant euphoria they both felt fly through them simultaneously made them gasp in pleasure together. At that moment, they knew exactly what they'd be doing for the rest of the night.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gwen was once again laying in a healing pod, Dr. Reynolds streaming the anime _Bleach_ for the Gardevoir's entertainment while she was healing. Gwen was on the fifth episode when she began to sense what Brendan and May were doing.

 _Oh, come on! Again?_ she thought as she did her best to block out the sensations. _Well, at least now they're engaged._

 **Well, that's it, and I know it was a really short chapter by comparison, but considering that it's a (intentionally light) lemon scene, I think it's justified. Especially since I am more intent on making this story about over all character development and plot, much like Game of Thrones.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review letting me know what you honestly think, without flaming, but realize that this is absolutely the last time I write a lemon scene for this fanfiction, no matter how much people ask (you know who you are).**

 **Until next time – jmoul18.**


	43. Juan of the Best

_Juan of the Best_

Three days after the incident with Kyogre and Groudon, Brendan was lying awake in the bed with May, both still naked from last night, just looking at his new fiancée, marveling at just how beautiful she was. They had spent their days sightseeing in the city, even getting a TM for Brick Break from a kind-hearted martial artist. There were even a few people who recognized them from the news broadcast and asked for their autographs. During the evenings, they would get passionate and let their primal instincts take over. During all this time, every minute they were together just served to reaffirm how he felt about her, and Brendan could definitely feel it as he watched her sleeping with her head resting on his chest. _I hope this moment never ends,_ he thought as he remembered the activities of the previous night. Literally, nothing had been off-limits, and May even asked him to put it where most guys only dream of with their woman. Sure, he was sore now, but it was the type of soreness that came with a sense of pride.

Just as he was getting lost in thought, the phone rang. May groaned at the loud ringing, waking up while Brendan answered the phone. "Hello?" he said.

"Hi Brendan, this is Dr. Reynolds. I'm just calling to let you know that all of your Pokémon have all made a full recovery. You may pick them up from the front counter at your leisure," said the voice on the other line.

"Thank you, doctor, we'll be there around…" he looked at the clock and saw that it was only nine in the morning. "Noon." With that, they both hung up, and Brendan turned his attention back to May. She looked absolutely beautiful, even with bedhead, and he couldn't deny how good it felt to have their bodies in such close contact.

"Hey," she said with a tired smile. "How's my stud today?"

Brendan blushed a bit when she called him stud, not expecting her to say that. "I'm great, just thinking about how lucky I am to be in love with you."

May smiled and kissed his chest. "Well, you're too sweet," she said as she moved her body over his, slowly straddling him like she had last night.

"Do you want to go again?" Brendan asked, a bit surprised.

May just giggled. "Would that be a bad thing?"

Brendan smirked. "No, I guess it wouldn't be." May kissed him softly, and began to lightly grind her hips on him. It didn't take long before they were continuing their activities from last night. They lost track of time as they showered and pleasured each other that morning, miraculously getting ready by noon almost exactly. It was more miraculous that they both looked presentable, and not like they had just rolled out of bed. The nurse at the counter already had their Pokéballs out on the counter when the two trainers got to the front desk, while Gwen seemed to be chatting with her happily.

 _Well, looks like the lovebirds finally decided to join us today,_ Gwen said. Brendan went slightly wide-eyed as Gwen gave him a knowing look.

"Yeah, yeah, we slept later than usual today. Cut us some slack," Brendan said as he collected his Pokéballs and put them on his belt, where they belonged. May did the same, slightly giggling when she heard Gwen speaking to her.

 _So, you're saying you two didn't "engage" each other this morning?_ Gwen said, with a giggle. Brendan did the best he could to ignore her. That was when he had a realization, almost feeling guilty about it.

"Excuse me, nurse," he said, getting her attention. "Is there a video phone in this building? I'd like to make a call."

"Yes, there is a private phone just down the hall and to the left. The walls of the room are sound proof," she said.

"Thank you so much," Brendan said, and May immediately picked up on what he wanted to do. In all honesty, she was thinking the same thing. All three of them went to the booth, which was very spacious, and Brendan dialed the number for his house.

* * *

In Littleroot Town, the Maple family was sitting with the Birch family, enjoying a lunch Norman had prepared for everybody.

"Well, Norman, you're one hell of a chef. If ever you decide you don't want to be a gym leader anymore, you should definitely look into opening a restaurant," Professor Birch said with a hearty laugh. Caroline gave Edmund a look that just said, 'don't encourage him,' which only made Norman smile more.

"It was nothing, just a simple burger cookout," Norman said.

That's when Lily Birch spoke up. "Well, on a different note than Norman's cooking, did you two see the news broadcast from Sootopolis this week?"

"No, we haven't had the chance to watch the news much recently," Caroline said as Sylveon came up to her and nudged her hand to get some attention.

"Brendan and May were on it. I think you need to watch it, because I honestly have trouble believing what I saw there. There are other videos too, and they're going viral pretty fast," Ed told them. Just as he said that, the video phone on the wall began ringing. When they saw that it was from the Sootopolis Pokémon Center, Caroline automatically answered the call, bringing up the image of Brendan, May, and Gwen, all smiling

"Well, speak of the Giratina, and he shall appear," she said as the others joined by her side.

"How's it going you three? Haven't heard from you in a few weeks," Norman said

"Hey, sorry we haven't called in a while, we've been really busy lately," Brendan said.

"Honestly, I don't know if you'd believe us if we told you everything that's happened," May said.

"Well, start wherever you want, we've got nothing but time," Lily said.

May seemed happy to see her parents after so long, but she knew that she was about to worry them tremendously. "First, promise you won't freak out when we tell you what we've been doing recently," she said.

Edmund noticed that all three of them looked exhausted at that moment. "We can't really promise that right now, but we will try to temper ourselves," he said with a tone that showed he was already a bit worried.

"Well, we should start with what happened over the last month since we were last in Littleroot," Brendan said, beginning the story with catching Avery and Drake on the Southern Isle, and they went from there, May occasionally taking over. They didn't mention their new betrothal when they got to that part of the story, but Brendan could see a look in Norman's eyes that told him his father knew that he was waiting for that part of the story.

Needless to say, both of their parents looked more than a little scared for their children when the story ended, but they also looked relieved at the same time. "Well, we're just glad everybody is safe," Lily said, breaking a silence that had built.

"Agreed," the professor said. "As interested as I am in studying Groudon and Kyogre, I'm much happier that you're both alive and well."

That was when Norman spoke up. "That's all great to hear, but I can see you both have something else you want to tell us," he said.

May decided to answer that question with a slight blush. "Well, Brendan and I just got engaged," she said, earning a very surprised look from both of their parents.

"Wait, already?" Caroline asked, clearly questioning the speed that the teens had made such a big decision. Norman, however, seemed more like he expected to hear something like that.

"It makes sense. After what you two have been through together, I can see that you two are extremely close, much more than you were last time you called us," he said.

"Are you at least going to take some time before the wedding?" Lily asked.

"Yes, of course. We still have to finish our journey, and we'll keep dating each other for a while before getting married," May said.

Caroline sighed in relief. "That makes me feel better," she said before looking at May. "I think you and Brendan will make a beautiful family together some day." Brendan blushed slightly, and Gwen's sly look didn't help.

"It's really early for that, isn't it, Mom?" Brendan a bit quietly, making Norman laugh loudly.

"Well, good luck to both of you. Brendan, since you're in Sootopolis, then I should tell you this: Do not underestimate the gym leader there. Word among the other gym leaders in Hoenn is that the man mentored the current champion," he said.

"Thanks Dad, I'll remember that while I'm battling him," Brendan said.

"You two keep working hard, you have no idea how proud of both of you we all are. And please let us know when the league tournament and the grand festival are," Professor Birch said. "We will all be there to watch you in person."

"Of course, neither will be for a few weeks, but we'll let you know as soon as we find out when they are," May said with a smile.

"Alright, we'll talk to you both soon, keep in touch, and please be careful. Remember that you guys can always come home if you want to," Norman said.

"We will. See you in a few months at most," Brendan said. They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Gwen was still giving them both a sly look when they turned to the door, but she stopped when Brendan gave her a playful glare. She giggled and they all walked out to the waiting room, where they were pleasantly surprised to see both Steven and Wallace, who were evidently waiting for them.

"Good morning you two, you seem to be well-rested. How'd you enjoy the suite?" Steven asked.

"It was very comfortable. Thank you so much for letting us use it," Brendan said.

"Yeah, we loved it so much," May said.

"You are most welcome," Steven said. "However, it just so happens that there is something else that we are here for."

Brendan looked interested, so Wallace stepped forward. "I would like to lead you to the Sootopolis Gym. The leader, Juan, has been eagerly awaiting Brendan's challenge," he said.

 _Oh, cool, Norman just told us about him, that should be an awesome battle!_ Gwen said, earning a chuckle from Steven.

"I should've figured that you were talking to your families," he said. "Norman probably couldn't resist giving his son a little warning."

Brendan smiled a bit. "Yeah, seems he couldn't, but I can say that he only told me not to underestimate the leader."

"That seems like something Norman would do, for sure," Wallace said before he started walking and leading the group out of the Pokémon Center and to the center of town, where the gym sat, surprisingly completely unaffected by the devastating battle a few days ago.

"Wow, this place is beautiful!" May said, almost having stars in her eyes. The building was reminiscent of an ancient temple, made completely out of white marble granite on the outside. It was accentuated with fountains resembling various water Pokémon, with one grand statue in the center that was an exact image of a Kingdra.

"The gym was modeled to fit the tastes of Juan, and he's very eccentric," Steven said.

As he said that, a Spaniard, who looked about ten years older than Norman exited the building and joined them. He was wearing a blue traveler's coat with white trim along the edges, along with a white blouse with a round blue jewel around his neck. He had a black dress shirt on underneath and a pair of violet dress shorts over black leggings. He wore a pair of very fashionable aqua shoes, and his sleeves were rolled up at the cuff and accentuated by the frilled white sleeves of his blouse. He had a thin mustache the same black color as his hair, which was accentuated with what looked like three white feathers.

"Wallace, my old student!" Juan said as he embraced the blue-haired man, a Spanish accent clear in his voice. "It's great to see you again, my boy."

"It's great to see you too Juan, my friend," Wallace said with a wide smile on his face.

 _Brendan, didn't Norman say that this town's leader was the mentor to the champion?_ Gwen said to only him.

 _Yeah, he did. You don't think that Wallace is…_

"Brendan, isn't it?" Juan said enthusiastically. "I am quite happy to meet the savior of the region. I am Juan, leader of the Sootopolis City gym."

Brendan smiled and shook hands with the man. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. Wallace and Steven have both spoken quite highly of you."

"Well, I am sure their descriptions pale in comparison to your exploits in the past few months. Ever since I heard that you defeated your own father in a battle, I have been expecting to see you in my gym. Our battle will be one of elegance and splendor, truly one for the history books," Juan said, moving his hands in a slightly pompous, but fitting gesture to accentuate his words.

Gwen smiled back. _And we look forward to our battle. I promise you that Brendan and I will give you a great battle._

Juan looked only slightly surprised when he heard Gwen speaking. "It has been quite some time since I saw a Pokémon with the ability to speak like a human. You are truly a rare specimen of your kind, and such a beautiful one as well." Gwen blushed happily, and Brendan could tell that her ego had just gotten a massive boost just by looking at her.

Juan then turned to Brendan and smirked confidently. "Shall we head inside now? The battlefield awaits us," he said. Steven and Wallace started to follow Juan inside while Brendan, May, and Gwen all brought up the rear.

 _So, looks like our audience is going to be a bit bigger than usual,_ Gwen said.

 _Yeah, and a hell of a lot more influential,_ Brendan said, getting a slight giggle from Gwen.

Just before they were to get into the gym, May grabbed Brendan's hand and pulled him into a quick kiss. "That's for luck. I know you'll do great," she said.

Brendan smiled at her and gave her a hug. "This is why I love you so much," he said. "I'll be sure to give it back for your next contest." May giggled before they entered the truly amazingly decorated gym.

The battlefield was a perfect combination of water and dry land to allow water Pokémon to battle without restriction, and it seemed bigger than the other battlefields Brendan had seen in Hoenn. The interior of the building was extravagant as well, with a combination of Unovan and Kalosian architecture styles forming archways. The stands looked almost like the ones from the famous Orre Colosseum, just with a better polish and finish to them.

 _He's clearly very well-traveled,_ Gwen said, her voice making it clear that she was impressed.

 _Yeah, especially since he's got designs from Orre,_ Brendan said as they took their positions on the battlefield.

"Well, Brendan, what do you say to a battle of attrition. The last trainer with Pokémon fit for battle is the winner," Juan said.

"Sounds good to me," he said, which caused the screen on the side of the battlefield to light up and show both Juan and Brendan's profiles with five Pokéballs beside Juan's face, and six beside Brendan's.

"I'll start us off with Maria!" Juan said as he threw a Pokéball, letting out a Pokémon that looked like a little heart. Brendan pulled out his Pokédex, knowing he'd need information on his opponent.

It scanned the Pokémon and displayed the picture, the electronic voice giving him the data. "Luvdisc, the Rendezvous Pokémon. Type: Water. Luvdisc live in shallow seas in the tropics. This heart-shaped Pokémon earned its name by swimming after loving couples it spotted in the ocean's waves. Luvdisc's heart-shaped body is a symbol of love and romance. It is said that any couple meeting this Pokémon is promised a loving relationship that never ends."

Brendan just looked over at May, who just blushed slightly when it said the part about a "loving relationship that never ends," but he needed to focus. He decided that, even though the opponent's Pokémon was a water type, he might still be able to win at least one round with Jack. So, he sent out the Camerupt. The images of both Jack and Maria appeared on the screen with green health bars beside them.

Juan seemed to get an almost disappointed expression. "Dios mio, niño, surely you know that you put yourself at a severe disadvantage."

"Type-wise, perhaps, but maybe I have another strategy," Brendan said, realizing that Juan hadn't noticed the Heat Rock pendent around Jack's neck. "Like this! Jack, use Sunny Day!" Jack gathered what looked like a bright white light on one of his volcanos before launching it up into the air, creating an imitation of the sun, intensifying the heat of the battlefield. Juan raised an eyebrow, now seemingly intrigued.

"Very well, Maria, use Water Pulse," Juan said. Before Brendan could even react, the Luvdisc leapt from the water and fired three rings of water at Jack, all with perfect accuracy. They hit their mark, making Jack's health bar drop to about half of the maximum.

"Damn, she's still strong. Then we'll just use Stone Edge!" Brendan smiled as he watched Maria dive back into her pool of water just in time for Jack to step on the ground, making multiple stone spears erupt from the pool…with none of them hitting the intended target. "How is that possible? How did she dodge it?"

"How, you ask? Simple, Maria is very good at dodging. Her form makes it easy for her to swim gracefully around any attack," Juan said. Maria, as if wanting to mock Brendan, did a graceful leap from the water, and twirled in the air as the Stone Edge retreated back into the ground before going back into the water. Brendan gritted his teeth in mild annoyance.

"I see, then I'll just need to be much more careful. So, I'll just do something a bit more rash. Jack, use Earthquake!" Jack stomped on the ground again, making the battlefield quake and break apart, one breaking directly under Maria, knocking her into the air. Juan, however, seemed to be just fine despite Maria's health dropping by a third.

"Maria, use Aqua Jet," Juan said. Maria twirled quickly and surrounded herself with water and she began to spiral forward, hitting Jack hard in the side, making him stagger as his health dropped to less than the one eighth mark. "Now, make that a Water Pulse!"

"Counter with Flamethrower!" Brendan said. Jack turned and unleashed a jet of fire from his mouth. At the same time, Maria transferred all of the water from her Aqua Jet into three rings of water, firing all of them at Jack. The attack from the Luvdisc wrapped around the Flamethrower from Jack, neither attack affecting the other, but it was now clear to Brendan that he had failed Jack. When the attacks both hit, Maria simply dove back into her pool, while her health bar stopped at the quarter mark. There came a buzzer as Jack fainted. Brendan sighed and recalled Jack. "I'm sorry, buddy. I shouldn't have put you out there without gauging his skill. I promise you that we'll win this for you." Brendan put the Pokéball back on his belt.

 _You'll need some speed. It might be smart to use Turk now,_ Gwen said. _He's got the speed, and he's got at least some neutrally effective attacks._

Brendan nodded to her and grabbed Turk's Pokéball, letting out the Crawdaunt, who seemed very ready to battle. Juan smiled. "So, you have a Crawdaunt as well. That's very interesting to see. Let's see how you use him," he said.

"Turk, use Night Slash!" Brendan said with a smile. Turk's claws both began to glow with a black and violet light.

"Use Flail!" Juan said. Maria leapt from the water and began whipping her body around, slapping against Turk before he swiped his claw across her body, launching her across the field. The buzzer sounded as Maria fainted. Juan sighed, but Brendan stayed focused, seeing that Maria had done a lot of damage with that single Flail.

Juan recalled Maria, thanking her extensively in Spanish, before pulling out his next Pokéball. "Vamos, Santiago!" he said as he sent out a Crawdaunt of his own. This one, however, was more brown than red, which told Brendan that this one was, like Erza, a shiny. "Now, use Dragon Dance!" Santiago gathered energy, which formed a red and black aura, boosting his speed and his attacking strength.

Brendan gritted his teeth a bit. This would make things more difficult going forward. "Alright, Turk, use Brick Break!" he said, happy that he and May had done their sightseeing earlier in their visit to Sootopolis. Turk's claw began to glow brightly as he raced forward toward Santiago, swinging hard.

"Santiago, use your own Brick Break!" Juan said. Santiago's claws glowed the same way as Turk's but he moved just slightly faster than his red counterpart. So, despite Turk starting his attack faster, the two Crawdaunts hit each other at the same time. Turk grunted loudly as he took a lot of damage, and it showed on the battle monitor as his HP dropped to a tiny sliver. Santiago, however, only dropped to about the halfway mark.

 _Damn, Dad wasn't kidding about not underestimating Juan, this guy is an amazing battler,_ Brendan thought, but he couldn't dwell on that. "Turk, use Aqua Jet!"

"Santiago, use Crabhammer," Juan said as Turk surrounded himself with water and leaping at Santiago. Santiago's claws both began to glow brightly. Turk hit his opponent directly, dropping his health by only a small amount, but it would still help. Santiago, however, was done dealing with Turk. He pivoted slightly and slammed his claws into Turk's back, the buzzer sounding almost immediately as Turk was knocked out. Brendan recalled his Pokémon, his focus not wavering. He knew the consequences he would face if he did lose focus.

"Well, niño, it seems that you've got some good instincts in battle. I wonder how far that will carry you," Juan said, his expression bordering on a confident smirk.

 _We have more than that,_ Gwen said. _We'll win this for sure_.

"Right, and to help me prove it, I choose Nikki!" he said, throwing her Pokéball out. The Slaking gave a grunt, showing her readiness to battle.

"I see. You take after your father. I should've been ready for something like this," Juan said with a chuckle. "But then again, you did recently defeat Norman, and that is no small feat. Let's see how you handle yourself."

"I agree, so I'll start it like this. Nikki, use Hammer Arm!" Brendan said, his passion for this battle clear in his voice. Nikki moved fast, closing the distance in two seconds as her arm began to glow. She swung hard, sending Santiago rocketing into the walls around the field. She snorted as the buzzer sounded again, making it clear that she meant to win this entire match.

Juan smiled and chuckled slightly as he recalled Santiago. "I see, you love battling a lot, don't you? It's clear from the way both you and your Pokémon are so passionate for what you're doing. I haven't seen that type of passion since Wallace was my student," he said with a smile. "Now, let's see if you can win this round. Go, Bagre!"

Brendan was shocked to see a Pokémon that looked like blue catfish with a yellow underbelly and a yellow "W" on his forehead, that dove into the water on Juan's side before sticking his head out so he could fight effectively. Brendan pulled out his Pokédex once again, needing some information. The image appeared and the device began to speak. "Whiscash, the Whiskers Pokémon. Type: Water and Ground. Whiscash is extremely territorial. Just one of these Pokémon will claim a large pond as its exclusive territory. If a foe approaches it, it thrashes about and triggers a massive earthquake. If Whiscash goes on a wild rampage, it sets off a quake-like tremor with a radius of over three miles. This Pokémon has the ability to predict real earthquakes."

 _I see, this should be interesting. There's no distinct advantage on either side_ , Brendan thought. Gwen just smiled. This was how she knew Brendan loved to battle. It wasn't with the life or death pressure that he'd been having almost exclusively recently. This was the Brendan she and May both loved so much. "Alright Nikki, start this with a Slash!" Nikki began to run again, albeit a bit slower as she felt the effects of Hammer Arm. As she approached the catfish.

Juan just gave a "tch-tch" sound to Brendan. "You should really be more cautious sometimes. Bagre, use Fissure!"

Brendan's eyes went wide as a massive crack formed in the field directly in front of Nikki, who was helpless as she fell into it. The crevice closed hard and then opened again, launching the unconscious Slaking into the air. It closed a final time as Nikki hit the field, the buzzer sounding immediately. Brendan was in shock. Nikki was one of his strongest Pokémon, and she had just been beaten so easily. He recalled her, debating his next Pokémon. Clint could make this a quick win, but Brendan wanted to save him for later. The Sceptile would likely prove a good final trump card, but not just yet. So, he went with the one Pokémon he knew couldn't be hit by a ground type.

"Avery, come on out!" he said as he sent out his Latias. The Eon Pokémon cooed happily and went through her usual routine of flying to Brendan and nuzzling him sweetly. "Hey, I know, I missed you too. Are you ready to win some battles?" Avery gave a soft coo and a nod. Brendan smiled as she turned toward Bagre.

"So, niño, you brought an Eon Pokémon. You are truly quite the trainer. Let me see just how well you two work together," Juan seemed more intrigued than before.

"Then we won't disappoint. Avery, use Dragon Pulse!" he called. Avery reared back and fired off a beam of purple and green energy at Bagre. Bagre dove to try and dodge, but it was useless. The attack was already too strong as it split the water almost like a biblical scene, and the beam hit the Whiscash. It dropped his health significantly, almost making it turn red on the screen, while the water settled back into place. "Great, now use Psychic!"

"Hydro Pump!" Juan said. Avery began to glow as Bagre opened his mouth. Just as Avery gripped her target, Bagre fired a massive torrent of water. While it didn't do much to her damage-wise, it threw off her concentration. Bagre broke free of the Psychic attack, taking only minimal damage from the attack. Even so, he was starting to slow down, his fatigue apparent.

"Well, that was well done, my boy. You should be proud, but you still have a long way to go," Juan said. "Now, Bagre, use Ice Beam!" The Whiscash leapt from the water and fired a beam of freezing energy at Avery.

"Dodge, then use an Ice Beam of your own!" Brendan said. Avery was more than cheerful as she twirled around, causing the incoming attack to fly past her and hit the ceiling. She then fired a beam exactly like Bagre's, but it moved with much greater speed by comparison, hitting her target directly on his belly. Bagre groaned loudly and the buzzer sounded as he fell to the ground again, landing in a heap. Juan recalled his Pokémon and pulled out his next one.

"You're doing much better than most of my other challengers, especially with this being your final gym battle before the league tournament," Juan said. "But, I still won't go easy on you. Nor will Léo!" He threw his next Pokéball and sent out a large sea lion Pokémon. Brendan once again needed to go to his Pokédex for help.

"Sealeo, the Ball Roll Pokémon. Type: Water and Ice. Sealeo has the habit of always juggling on the tip of its nose anything it sees for the first time. This Pokémon occasionally entertains itself by balancing and rolling a Spheal on its nose. While the Pokémon is rolling something, it checks the object's aroma and texture to determine whether it likes the object or not." Brendan chuckled a bit. Sealeo definitely sounded like a fun Pokémon, but his impression of the one in front of them now was that he meant business and only business.

"I suppose I'll keep the ball rolling. Avery, use Thunderbolt!" Brendan said. Avery launched a spiraling stream of electricity directly at Léo.

Juan would not let his Pokémon lose so easily. "Léo, use Sheer Cold!" The Sealeo reared back, and for the second time in this match, one of Juan's Pokémon fired off a one-hit K.O. attack. Avery, knowing that her losing would make it much harder for Brendan to win this gym match, boosted her attack power by using a fast Calm Mind. The two attacks collided and vied for dominance. In the end, they just exploded in the middle, creating a cloud of dust and smoke.

"Avery, now's your chance! Use another Thunderbolt!" Avery was faster in firing her next stream of lightning, and this shot hit Léo before he had a chance to dodge or even react. The buzzer sounded after a few seconds as the attack finished off the Pokémon.

"Very well, it seems you've come to my final Pokémon. He will not go down without a major fight," Juan said. "Go, Rey!"

Brendan almost groaned when he saw the final evolution in the Horsea line dive into the pool on Juan's side of the field. He knew that Kingdra was a powerful Pokémon, with Clair in Johto also having one on her team. It was one of those Pokémon that trainers almost universally wanted, but very few ever actually got.

"I see, so dragon against dragon? Seems fitting," Brendan said.

"Indeed, niño, but you are about to find that one of our dragons is stronger than the other by a significant margin. Rey, use Dragon Dance!" Kingdra was surrounded with a red and black aura as his power and speed were both boosted.

"Avery, Calm Mind!" Avery was surrounded by a green aura and her special abilities increased.

Juan smirked slightly. "Dragon Rush!" Rey's body began to glow with a light blue aura before he dove deeper into the water before leaping and flying directly at Avery at incredible speeds.

"Dragon Pulse!" Brendan called. Avery fired her attack, but Rey had other plans. Rather than try to dodge and call of his attack, the Kingdra plowed right through the beam, losing about half of his health in the process. However, when he slammed into Avery and sent her plummeting into the ground, Brendan could see his reasoning. It was even more apparent when the buzzer sounded. Avery cooed sadly to Brendan, despite being just barely conscious.

"Juan, could I get a brief timeout?" Brendan asked. Juan nodded, understanding that Brendan was going to console his Pokémon. He knew from his few encounters with trainers and their Eon Pokémon that there was a strong bond between the Pokémon and the trainer.

When he got to her side, Avery looked at Brendan in a way that said she was about to cry. Brendan knelt down and gave her a hug. "It's okay, Avery. You were incredible out there. You battled with more heart than ever before, and I never thought a standard that high could be raised," he said. Avery cooed softly, rubbing her face against his cheek. "I love you too Avery. Now, get some rest. I promise that I will win this match."

He recalled Avery and walked back to where he had been standing, and thinking about whether he should use Clint or Gwen now. _Oh, forget the debate with yourself, it's my turn,_ Gwen said as she walked out onto the field. _Let's do this._

"I see, so it's time for your Gardevoir to take the field. I have been looking forward to meeting the one rumored among the gym leaders to be one of the strongest of her species in the modern era," Juan said.

"Well, we won't be disappointing you," Brendan said. _Gwen, let's go mega!_ He touched his keystone and both it and Gwen's Gardevoirite lit up simultaneously. When their light beams connected, Gwen morphed into her Mega Form, smiling confidently.

 _Listen up Juan, we're here kick some ass and chew bubble gum, and we're all out of gum,_ Gwen said. Brendan face-palmed as she said that, and Juan started to laugh heartily at her joke.

 _I really should stop letting you watch so many quotable movies,_ Brendan said. _But this isn't time to joke. I need you to use Hyper Voice._

 _Oh fine, Mr. Kill-Joke,_ Gwen said as she shouted loudly, sending a sonic wave toward Rey.

"Don't take advantage of when I'm distracted, that's not honorable," Juan said. "It seems that I must teach you a lesson, niño tonto. Rey, use Double Team, then Dragon Dance!"

Brendan got a bit nervous as the Kingdra began to multiply around the field like Gwen would usually do when facing a strong opponent. It was a bit daunting, but Brendan knew they could win, even after the Hyper Voice missed its mark. That was, at least, until Rey started to glow with a red and black, boosting his power and speed again.

 _Gwen, be careful. Use Calm Mind again, then use Shock Wave!_ Brendan said. Gwen smirked, knowing that Brendan had a plan to win this. She began to concentrate deeply, a green aura appearing around her.

Juan, however, had different plans. "Rey, end this round with Iron Head!" Just as Gwen finished gathering power, Rey launched himself out of the pool, the crown of his head glowing brightly like polished metal.

 _Gwen, Shock Wave, NOW!_ Brendan said with worry in his voice. Gwen managed to get off an attack, sending some powerful electricity in a ring. The Kingdra grunted as he was hit, but he kept going, slamming his head into Gwen's stomach, knocking the wind from her lungs. _GWEN!_

Brendan looked on with worry as Gwen's health bar dropped rapidly. _S-sorry Brendan, I think I-_ the buzzer sounded as Gwen hit the ground and passed out. Rey, however, dove into the water again, his eyes showing determination.

"Gwen!" Brendan yelled with worry as he ran to her side. She reverted to her normal state just as he got to her. "I-I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have sent you out without knowing that he could use a Steel-Type move," he said with regret.

Gwen barely came back to consciousness, and smiled at her trainer, putting her hand on his cheek. _It's fine, guess my luck of winning every battle I've been in has dried up,_ she said with a weak giggle. _Now, don't worry about me. Just win this battle._

Brendan nodded as he picked her up bridal style and carried her back to his side of the field and set her down in a more comfortable position. He took a look at the screen, seeing that Rey was below half his health, and he saw that Jack's Sunny Day was still in effect thanks to the Heat Rock. Without a second thought, he threw out Clint's Pokéball, sending out the grass type.

"I see, so the niño had a Sceptile lying in wait. I'm glad to see you had a strategic fail-safe," Juan said. "But so do I. ICE BEAM!" Rey leapt from the water, firing a stream of icy energy.

"Clint, dodge, then use Solar Beam!" Brendan said. Clint leapt out of the way, but Rey was fast with adjusting his aim, hitting the Sceptile in his chest. Brendan was worried as he saw his Pokémon's health drop fast, but practically sighed in relief when it stopped just after it got to the one-quarter mark. Clint struggled to his knees, and, with the help of the Sunny Day, immediately fired off an incredible beam of green, yellow, and white energy, his aim perfect. The attack hit Kingdra just as the water dragon was about to re-enter the pool.

When the blinding light cleared, Rey was slumped against the far wall with a scorch mark on a large area surrounding him. The buzzer sounded, and Juan sighed. "I see. Your dance of battle was, indeed, superior to mine." The gym leader recalled his Pokémon and walked over to Brendan. "I am positive that you will do very well in the upcoming Pokémon League Tournament."

Brendan smiled confidently. "Thank you, Juan. I really enjoyed that battle. I'd definitely agree to a rematch if you ever want one."

Gwen stood up as he said that, her legs clearly unsteady, but she still stood nonetheless. _And I promise you that I will be much stronger next time. Rey will not beat me as easily as he did,_ she said.

Juan laughed slightly. "I am sure that you will be." He pulled out a badge shaped like a trio of rain drops, handing it to Brendan. "I now confer onto you the Rain Badge, and the badge that qualifies you for the Pokémon League Tournament."

Brendan graciously took the badge, only to be turned around by his fiancée once he had it in his hand. "Well, that was a great battle. Deserving of another reward," she said before she kissed him briefly.

Brendan smiled. "Well, I think it's your turn to get back on the contest circuit," he said.

"Then I guess we'd better get back to the Pokémon Center and plan that out," May said.

With that, the trio said their farewells to Steven, Wallace, and Juan, heading to the Pokémon Center. Brendan helping Gwen walk back as they got out of sight.

"Well, Wallace, are you a bit nervous now? I get the feeling that you won't have your title for much longer," Juan said.

"The boy was good, I admit. But he has a long way to go before he takes the Champion title from me," Wallace said, smiling softly. "But he is a remarkable young man, Champion or not."

"That he is," Steven said. "I got that feeling from the moment I met him in Granite Cave, and he has yet to prove me wrong."

"Perhaps, but I think he will be surprised to find out that the champion title is pretty meaningless with a trainer as strong as you still around," Wallace said, referring to Steven.

Steven just smiled back. "Perhaps, but give it time…give it time."

 **Wow, I am so sorry that this took so long. I seem to have gotten into a habit of losing track of time with my other story, mixed with my classes and social obligations. I honestly haven't had that much time to write recently.**

 **Anyway, I decided that my earlier choice to take a hiatus from FanFiction was a bit premature. I'm currently thinking of my next project, the basis of which will not be revealed until the last chapter of this story, but I promise you all that it will be incredible…and a lot darker than any of my current stories.**

 **Anyway, as always, please leave a constructive review, and let me know what you think I can improve on. Until next time ~ jmoul18**


	44. The Pacifidlog Dream

_The Pacifidlog Dream_

Brendan woke up slowly two days later, as he and May were traveling by ferry to Pacifidlog town, where May could get her fifth and final ribbon before she could compete in the grand festival. May was beside him, sound asleep and was wearing only a pair of panties and a bra, while Brendan wore only a pair of boxers. They weren't touching this time, but it was still good to be so close to each other. Gwen was over in the other bed still asleep, so Brendan decided that now was a good time to order some room service for everyone. He got out of bed and picked up the phone, dialing for the kitchen and ordering enough omelets, Pecha and Razz Berry smoothies, and home fried potatoes for himself, May, Gwen, and all the rest of their Pokémon. They deserved that type of treat after all they had been through.

When he finished placing the order, Brendan casually looked around the cabin, that Steven had booked for them as additional thanks for their help with Kyogre and Groudon. It was a massive room easily big enough to hold all their Pokémon at once. It was impressive to say the least, and the view from the balcony was typically amazing. So, to pass the time before the food arrived, he put on some shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed a bottle of water, and sat down on the Adirondack chairs outside, enjoying the ocean air. He could even see the Sky Pillar from where they were, albeit it was still far away. From that information, Brendan figured they had at least a few more hours before getting to their destination. "This is what a journey should be. No fighting to save the world, just being with the ones I love, and continuing to get stronger for no better reason than to have fun and bond with my team," he said. As he said that, he felt a pair of hands cover his eyes as his vision went black.

"Guess who!" May said, sounding cheerful and well-rested.

"Hmm…Is it Gwen?" Brendan said, clearly joking. May giggled and moved her hands to his cheeks to tilt his head toward her. She then gave Brendan a sweet kiss before sitting down next to him. "Did you sleep well?"

 _We both did, thank you for asking,_ Gwen said as she came out onto the balcony as well, sitting on the third chair as well.

"Gwen, I know what you're thinking and feeling. I always know when you sleep well," Brendan said, with a sly smile.

"Well, I slept like a rock. It's always comforting with you next to me," May said with a smile.

"I'm really glad to hear it. Seems that our lives are back to normal after all," Brendan said. He took another deep breath, enjoying the breeze in his hair, when a knock came from the door. "And that is perfect timing."

Brendan went inside the cabin briefly before coming back out with the tray provided for their meals, and set it all down before May and Gwen. "My treat."

"Wow, Brendan, you didn't have to get these for us," May said happily.

"Oh, but I wanted to get it for you," Brendan said. "Why wouldn't I treat my beautiful women to a great meal?"

May blushed. "Damn, you're so flirty for the morning."

Brendan smiled. "I plan to do even more flirty later today too."

 _Oh, just stop before I throw up,_ Gwen teased.

Brendan just laughed as he sent out his other Pokémon, May doing the same thing, so they could all have their breakfast. Brendan gave all the Pokémon their food, and they all began to enjoy their meals. All of the Pokémon were extremely pleased and they all ate quickly, thoroughly enjoying their delicious meals, just as Brendan and May did the same. May was almost giving a face Brendan had learned intimately while in Steven's personal wing of the Sootopolis Pokémon Center, and Brendan couldn't blame her. The food was exquisite, and it had superb flavor.

"Brendan, you just love to spoil us, don't you?" May said. She was blushing deeply at this point. Brendan just smiled and winked. That was when Drake and Avery began a game of tag in the air around the ship, playing cutely and causing a few passengers on the main deck below to start filming. Just from that, Brendan knew it would be a great day. Hell, it might even be smooth sailing from now on.

* * *

By about three in the afternoon, they made landfall, getting to Pacifidlog Island quickly. It was a small island with a few of the homes practically floating on the ocean to protect the reef while the city expanded. It was a beautiful location, looking like the most tropical area in the entire region, which was saying a lot for the Hoenn region, all things considered.

They got to the Pokémon Center easily enough, finding it at the center of the town next to what Brendan assumed was the contest hall for the city. It wasn't until they got inside that they saw someone that they had been missing for the past month. "Lisia!" May said as she ran forward, giving her friend and mentor a tight hug.

Lisia looked shocked at the sudden hug, but that changed quickly to a mixture of fear, worry, and happiness. "Oh, my Arceus, where have you three been? May, you missed the Sootopolis contest, and the next thing I know I see you three on the news in Sootopolis less than a week after!"

May laughed a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, about that…it's…kind of a long story," she said.

Lisia just pulled May along with her to a private room, followed closely by Brendan and Gwen. "Alright, it sounded like it wasn't a story just anybody should know, so spill. Tell me exactly what happened and don't skimp on the details," the eccentric coordinator said.

May nodded as she got into the story, describing it as best she could while Brendan filled in the details of what happened while May wasn't with him. All throughout the experience, Lisia looked more than intrigued, and even appeared to be slightly terrified at some points. May, however, left out the part about the engagement for the main story, wanting to save that for the last detail she told her friend.

"Wow, I…I don't know how you two are still sane after that," Lisia asked.

"Well, to be honest, I almost lost my sanity without May," Brendan said, feeling a bit ashamed of himself for how far he had almost gone multiple times. While he had acted to help the woman he loved, it had nearly been at the cost of who he was as a person.

"But you didn't…it makes me wonder if you two had something else happen that you aren't telling me," Lisia said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't get a chance to get the ring from Fallarbor yet, but May and I decided to get engaged," Brendan said.

Lisia almost squealed with excitement as she hugged May. "Congratulations you two. You must be so excited!"

"That's an understatement," May said with just as much giddiness as Lisia was showing. "Honestly, I had no idea that he would do that at the time, in all honesty. But I know for sure that he's the one for me."

"That's so sweet! When's the wedding?" she asked.

"It won't be for a few more years now, since we agreed we're both still a bit young for marriage," Brendan said.

Lisia nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. You don't want to marry before you're ready, but it must be nice to know that you love somebody so much this early on," she said. She gave May one last hug before deciding to talk business. "Have you gotten any training for this contest's routine?"

"Honestly, no. Being held captive by Team Aqua kind of interfered with that," May said.

"Well, then you should know that this is a doubles contest. You'll have two Pokémon at once for both the performance and the battle," Lisia said. "Think you can handle that?"

May just smirked and held out her hand jokingly. "Hi, my name is May, it seems we haven't met." Lisia just rolled her eyes and laughed.

Brendan looked at Gwen as the two coordinators began to get lost in the strategic planning for this contest. _Well, another sign of returning to normalcy,_ Brendan thought.

* * *

"Welcome one and all to the final contest before the Grand Festival, The Pacifidlog Town Extravaganza!" Vivian Meridian said happily. The entire crowd lost it with excitement as she began to introduce the judges, all of whom were pretty much the same as they had been in the other contests.

Brendan, Lisia, and Gwen all sat in the best seating in the massive contest hall that surrounded the stage like in a colosseum. The architecture was a lot like Juan's gym, but it was made from concrete rather than marble and there were no statues around the building. _It's really nice here. I honestly really like Orre architecture. Can we please visit there some day?_ Gwen asked Brendan.

 _Sure, but that may need to wait for a few years as well. It's not going to be a cheap trip. Plus, Orre is a massive desert, there's not much really there._

"Now, please give it up for our first contestant! She missed our last contest in Sootopolis, but she's back again! It's May Birch!" Vivian said.

May walked out onto the stage, wearing a new outfit made by Lisia's personal stylist. It looked almost like Gwen's dress, but it was a pearlescent pink, and her hair had a lot of blue highlights in it, at least only for this contest. She then took out her two Pokéballs. "Come on out, Miranda and Graham." Both the Blaziken and the Pelipper appeared out of their Pokéballs and they looked enthusiastic.

"Now, Miranda, Graham, you both know what to do!" May said. The two Pokémon nodded and leapt into action, Miranda starting a Fire Spin, and Graham using Hydro Pump. Both attacks flew at each other, but rather than collide and erupt into steam, the attacks swirled together, making a cyclone of fire and water, showing a beautiful swirling of color. One could even interpret it as a metaphor for two opposites coming together to make something beautiful. At least, that was how it looked until the two Pokémon redirected their aim. It then formed a heart of water with flames in the center, making it look like an embodiment of passion. Graham then fired an Ice Beam, freezing the water on the outside of the fiery heart, making it a true combination of opposites. That was Miranda's cue as she lit the ice on fire with a weaker Flamethrower, intentionally keeping the heat lower. The attack caused the ice to melt slowly. It was clear to Brendan that May was making a metaphor meant for him. She was telling him that her love for him would keep getting stronger until the very end. The flames did their job, dissipating once the ice had melted. That was May's cue to take a bow, which Graham and Miranda both copied The judges seemed to love it as well, giving her a perfect score as the crowd thoroughly agreed with their applause.

"I think May has something on her mind with this performance," Lisia said with a smile as she looked over at Brendan. "She's really excited about marrying you, you know that, right?"

"Oh, she's shown that a few times recently," Brendan said.

 _Yeah, sometimes it was really physical. I even think she took him for a ride,_ Gwen said shamelessly.

"Arceus, Gwen," Brendan said, trying to keep his voice down as he watched the next coordinator, who used a Machamp with a Rhyperior. Lisia was blushing heavily at Gwen's comment.

"S-so, was it…ummm…good?" Lisia asked, clearly not sure what else to say in response, and that her question was just the first to come to mind.

 _They've done it almost every other night since they got engaged,_ Gwen said.

"Seriously, Gwen, cool it," Brendan said. Gwen just giggled.

 _What's the problem? I'm only speaking to you and Lisia. She's one of May's best friends, after all, so I doubt she wouldn't have found out soon_.

Lisia seemed to look away innocently and scratched, secretly having planned to ask May about that subject later tonight. Brendan turned his attention back to the next performer to try and end that conversation. The Pokémon being used currently were a Scizor and a Milotic to great effect, but Brendan could tell that this contest was going to be a repeat of the Lilycove Contest. May was clearly the best in this pool of coordinators.

Two more performances later, and it was time for the battle rounds. Brendan sat back in his seat and watched as May, Miranda, and Graham cut through their competition like a hot knife through butter. The last battle arrived quickly, with May facing off against a girl, named Rachel who looked about seventeen, and she used a Typhlosion, named Wanda and a Gallade, named Eddard, to combat Miranda and Graham.

"Alright, Miranda, use Shadow Claw on Eddard. Graham, you use Hydro Pump on Wanda!" May called out. Miranda's talons began to glow with a black and purple light as she leapt at Eddard, while Graham fired a torrent of water at Wanda.

"Wanda, use Solar Beam to counter that Hydro Pump. Gallade, use Psycho Cut to counter the Shadow Claw!" Rachel commanded. Graham and Wanda both fired, and their attacks collided, the two Pokémon vying for dominance. Miranda and Eddard, however, began battling and dodging with apparent ease, making it look like they were in a dance as Miranda ducked and weaved before lunging and slashing at Eddard. The four Pokémon all seemed to be in their own world of battle as they dodged, dove, ducked, dipped, and dodged all the attacks sent their way.

It was actually quite a beautiful display, but there was no doubt in Brendan's mind that May would win this. That thought was just affirmed when May called off Graham's attack.

"Graham, dodge that Solar Beam and use Hurricane!" she called. Graham twirled in the air as the attack flew by. He then beat his wings and got both Gallade and Typhlosion in a tornado, making them tumble around inside, doing damage to them as he went. The buzzer sounded as Rachel's score hit zero, and Graham stopped his attack. Wanda and Eddard both landed well, but they looked disappointed in themselves for the loss. Hell, even Brendan kind of felt bad for them. They looked like they had worked hard, but they just didn't pull through in the end. May walked over to her competitor and thanked her for the great battle. The audience began to applaud loudly.

"There you have it, May Birch has earned her fifth ribbon, qualifying her for the Grand Festival, which will be in Slateport City in three weeks. That means it will be exactly one month before the Pokémon League Tournament. See you all there!" Vivian said.

* * *

"So…May," Lisia started as she and May were both getting ready to go to bed in Lisia's hotel suite, which she had offered to share with Brendan, May, and Gwen. "I was wondering about how things are going between you and Brendan."

"How do you mean?" May asked.

"You know…is he 'performing' well for you?" Lisia said, her blush very deep by now.

May whipped her head around to face her friend with a blush deeper than Lisia's. "Who told you that we…" she stopped. "Damn it, Gwen!"

 _Sorry, I knew she'd ask!_ Gwen's voice sounded in May's head.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped now," May said as she shook her head and chortled. "Yeah, he's amazing, and he seems to know exactly how to turn me on quickly. Why do you ask, though?"

Lisia looked away for a moment, blushing more than before. "I haven't gotten any action in years. Perhaps…I could join you two one of these days?" she sounded like she wasn't expecting May to agree. There was a moment of silence as May contemplated the question.

"Personally, I have no problems with it, but I'll need to ask Brendan about it first," May said.

Lisia practically leapt onto May, hugging her with as much force as when May threw herself at Brendan. "Thanks May, you have no idea how much I've needed a good ride."

"It's no problem, trust me, I know that pain all too well. I can't tell you how much I'd wanted it from him since our first time in the Lavaridge hot springs," May said. "I just hope that we can satisfy you when the time comes. How about we share him on the way to the Grand Festival?"

"Sounds like a great idea. Just make sure you give it your all once we get there. Can't have my protégé losing in the biggest contest of the year," Lisia said.

"Well, if Grace will be there, then I will have to out-perform her too," May said.

"By the way, I should tell you something about that," Lisia said. May looked at her curiously. "I'm actually going to be competing in the Grand Festival. As the top coordinator of Hoenn, I need to be there as the true test of the newcomers."

"Then we'll be facing each other in the final contest." May seemed confident as she said that, but she was nervous deep down. Lisia, not only one of her best friends but her mentor, was now set to be her opponent. She wasn't sure how to handle that information, but she knew that she would need to begin training and figuring out her routine for the final contest by tomorrow at the latest. And to really impress these judges, she would need to make the performance even better than her already high standard.

* * *

Brendan was barely tired from the day's events as he relaxed in bed. "Well, Gwen, it seems that our journey in Hoenn is almost finished. Just May's festival, then the League. And, if we're lucky, I'll go up against the Elite Four," he said. Gwen was on the other bed in the room, and she just looked at Brendan slightly.

 _Yeah, it's hard to believe that was only about a year ago that we just started. So much has happened since then that it feels like a lifetime ago,_ she said.

"And to think, it landed me the most beautiful woman in the entire region," he said. "I'm not sure I could get any luckier."

 _Well, you may get even luckier on our way to Slateport,_ Gwen said quietly.

"Wait, what was that?" Brendan asked.

 _Nothing you won't find out about soon enough,_ Gwen said as she fell asleep. Brendan shrugged slightly as he began to unknowingly fall asleep. When May came in from the bathroom, she just rested her head on Brendan's chest, wearing only a blue, Chandelures concert shirt and some ruby red panties.

"Good night, my love. Dream about me, please," she said, kissing his cheek before falling asleep herself.

* * *

 **Well, that's it for now. I know it was a short chapter, especially for the contests, but since Grace isn't there as May's rival and one of the few who can match her in terms of skill, the choice was either have her struggle in this one, or I could make it easy. After all, I plan to make the Grand Festival her hardest contest yet.**

 **As for my next project, I should say that it will take place in the same universe as** _ **Brendan's Journey**_ **does, and there will be a tie-in between the two. No spoilers, though.**

 **This next chapter will be the first half of the Grand Festival, but there will be other things happening there too.**

 **Until next time – Jmoul18**


	45. The Pinnacle of Performance - Part One

_The Pinnacle of Performance - Part One_

Brendan woke up slowly, feeling sore but full of personal pride. It had been two weeks since the Pacifidlog Contest, and he was now sleeping in a first-class hotel room in Slateport. Last night, Brendan could swear he'd been to heaven and given Hugh Hefner a high-five just from the extreme pleasure he'd received from both May and Lisia. It had been an amazing ride to say the least. While Lisia was a bit more petite than May, she was definitely more experienced. And to make it better, Lisia had even taught May some little-known tricks that literally took Brendan's breath away more often than not.

That morning, Brendan had both women sleeping next to him, both thoroughly exhausted from the previous night. Brendan was wedged between them now, with Lisia on his right and May on his left. Brendan smiled, but he had something else on his mind. He wanted to check something, but he knew he couldn't move, or he'd risk waking the two women. _Hey, Gwen, could I get some help with something?_ Brendan called telepathically.

 _Oh, you're finally awake?_ Gwen said. _You know it's almost noon._

 _Yes, I know. But I need your help with something. Can you first teleport me out of the bed without waking Lisia or May up?_ Brendan asked.

 _Sure, what's your plan for when you get free of your "prison"?_ Gwen said, clearly just making fun of him and trying to make it harder for him to be productive.

 _Promise you won't tell May?_ Brendan asked.

 _Is it a bad secret or a good secret?_ Gwen asked.

 _Oh, come on, you can tell exactly what I'm thinking. You know what I'm planning_. Brendan put some force behind his words, making Gwen laugh as he suddenly found himself in the bathroom. _Thank you._ Brendan showered quickly and went into the room's small kitchen, where Gwen was already drinking some coffee.

 _So, want me to join you for the excursion?_ Gwen asked, sounding sincere now.

"Actually, could you stay here with May and Lisia. I need you to keep them occupied. Besides, May could use some help developing her performance for the Festival. It's only a week away, after all," he said.

Gwen sighed slightly. _Alright, I'll stay,_ she said. _Get the best that you can find, but make sure it fits her._

Brendan smiled. "Why would I cut corners with my fiancée?" With that, Brendan grabbed a bagel, then went to the balcony, sending out Avery before she flew from the building. "Alright Avery, to Fallarbor Town. With any luck, Mt. Chimney erupting didn't destroy the jewelry shop there," he said. There was a gentle tailwind for the trip, speeding them through the mainland of Hoenn.

Within an hour, Brendan had landed in Fallarbor, seeing that, aside from a few new impact craters, the town was unharmed. Brendan sighed with relief as he approached the shop, and saw the shop was completely in-tact without so much as a scorch mark. _Talk about lucky,_ he thought to himself as he opened the door of the shop.

"Hello, welcome!" the shop keeper, Jared, said. "How can I he-." He stopped when he saw Brendan. "Oh, Brendan! I wasn't expecting you to be back here so soon."

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be back here so soon either, but life is moving at its own pace. With all the events that have happened recently, May and I wound up getting engaged. So, like we agreed, I'm here to get her ring," Brendan said.

"Congratulations on the engagement," Jared said. "Now, I need to ask, what's your budget?"

Brendan pulled out his trainer card and saw that he currently had over 2 million PokéDollars from all of his battles recently. "I might be able to afford one of your more expensive pieces."

"In that case, I think I have a few that you'll like," Jared said as he led Brendan to a display case in the back. It was full of engagement rings, but none of them had diamonds on them. The bands of the rings were all made of either white, yellow, or rose gold. There were multiple different types of gemstones on them.

"Wow, these are beautiful. You have very good craftsmanship," Brendan said as he saw a section of rings that caught his eye. He had a feeling that they would be the best choice to fit May's personality, and even though these rings were all gorgeous, Brendan needed to look at them individually.

It took him about half an hour of checking each one, and even though he felt there were a few that would be better than others, none of them seemed like the right one for May. Brendan then glanced over at a different display case, and a ring there that he hadn't noticed caught his eye.

"Jared, could I see that one?" he asked. Jared smiled.

"Ah, that one. You have fine tastes. This may be my best ring yet. It's a 22 carat rose gold ring with three blue garnets and three red garnets on the top, about a carat each. The price is 1.8 million PokéDollars."

"Well, that's in my price range, and, even if it sounds cliché, but when I look at this one, I think of everything we've been through together," Brendan said.

Jared nodded. "Then I think we've found the right one for May," he said. "Let's get you checked out, since I'm sure you want to get back to May as soon as possible." Brendan went to the cash register with Jared, getting his trainer card out for the payment.

* * *

On Route 110, just outside Slateport, May was practicing the routine for the Grand Festival, planning to use Miranda for both the appeals and the battle round. It would be her last contest this year. She might as well end it where it began, with her first Pokémon, and with Brendan watching happily from the crowd. Miranda had just finished their most recent run-through of their routine.

"Well, Gwen, what do you think? Was that good?" May asked.

 _Aside from a few minor adjustments should be made, it's incredible. It might honestly be your best appeal performance yet,_ Gwen said as she got a brief glimpse of what Brendan was seeing at the jewelry store. She saw the ring that he had chosen, thinking it was the perfect choice. _Want to go once more?_

"Sure, one more time before lunch," May said. "Alright Miranda, let's try that Thunder Punch and Flamethrower combo!"

* * *

"Hello everybody, and welcome to this year's Grand Festival!" Vivian said. "It's been an incredible year for contests. We've had highs, we've had lows, and now, we've got a phenomenal pool of coordinators here to show us just how far they've come since this year began. For the tradition, this contest will feature none other than Hoenn's top coordinator, Lisia!"

The crowd began to applaud loudly, many people seeming to go berserk. Brendan clapped normally with Gwen beside him, and his mother's Sylveon curled up in his lap. Right behind the three of them, sat both the Maple and the Birch families. "It should be interesting to see these performances in-person," Caroline said. "The last one I was at was the one in Goldenrod so many years ago."

Lily Birch nodded. "And I just know May will do well this time. I can feel it in my bones that she's going to do well," she said.

Meanwhile, in the dressing room, May was fully dressed in an outfit that her mother had given her. It was a sapphire mermaid sheath style dress made of silk. It wasn't just soft, it was luxurious. Her make-up looked great as well, with a small, perfectly drawn wing on each eye. She had on a pair of ruby earrings that, in all honesty, made her think of Brendan.

"Well, look at you. You look like a prime candidate for the runner-up spot," said a familiar and friendly voice. May turned and smiled.

"Grace! It's good to see you again!" she said as she gave her friend a hug. "How've you been since the Fallarbor contest?"

"I've been practicing my routine for the festival, mostly. Otherwise, it's been a bit boring for me," Grace said. "But, a little bird told me that a certain somebody is newly engaged."

May blushed slightly, smiling. "The wedding won't be for another few years."

"Oh, I figured as much. You're still a bit young for marriage," Grace said. "But it's still impressive that you found your match so easily." She paused for a moment. "Anyway, when are you going on for your appeal?"

"I'm last in line before Lisia," May said, laughing and scratching the back of her neck slightly. "And what about you?"

"I'm at the exact middle: number ten," Grace said.

"Well, look at these two lazy losers," said a nasally, annoying voice. May barely recognized it, but when she turned to the source, she saw none other than Chaz with Macherie by his side.

"This coming from the guy who lost to both of us. How did you even get enough ribbons to participate in the Festival?" May said.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Chaz said, looking angry at May's comment.

"So, you're saying you don't want to explain yourself. So, I guess it's safe to assume that you cheated somehow. Or, perhaps you just went to small name contests and competed against those who couldn't beat you," Grace said.

Chaz blushed with frustration, only for Lisia to come behind him. She was wearing a blue tutu with multiple white frills and lace. It was essentially a blue version of the costume she gave May for the double contest. The biggest difference was that Lisia's outfit was adorned with puffy white cotton on her wrists, around her neck and waist, and on top of her boots. She also wore a thigh-high sock with blue and white stripes on her left leg. Beside her was an Altaria, which May knew for a fact she had never met before. "Chaz, stop starting shit," Lisia said. "Besides, you know you're no match for Ali here." Lisia gave her Altaria a quick pet on his neck.

Chaz almost growled before he and Macherie stormed off. "We'll see what happens when I perform as the fifth coordinator! I'll prove that May isn't worthy to be Lisia's student!"

Lisia just sighed. "He's always so annoying, isn't he?" May nodded in response. "Anyway, May, I don't think you've had the chance to meet my Pokémon yet."

May smiled as she stood up and walked over to her mentor. "No, I haven't. You said his name is Ali?"

Lisia nodded. "Yep, he's actually my only Pokémon, but we work together so well that we became the top coordinator and Pokémon team," she said with a smile. Ali walked over to May, letting her pet his head and neck.

"Hello there, it's great to meet you, Ali!" May said. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you and Lisia do with your appeal."

Lisia smiled. "You should watch it from the tunnel after your performance. After all, I'll be right behind you," she winked at May when she said that.

May chuckled. "You won't win, though. I had Gwen helping me the entire time I perfected my appeal," she said confidently.

"We'll definitely see what happens, won't we?" May said.

"Yes, we will," Lisia said. Grace smiled confidently behind them.

 _How am I being so confident?_ May thought deep down. _I lost to Grace last time, and Lisia seems to be on a completely different level._

 _Now, now, don't think like that,_ Gwen said. She had secretly been listening in on May's conversation, and she wasn't about to let her favorite girl doubt herself in the most important contest in her journey so far.

 _G-Gwen! How long have you been listening in?_ May asked.

 _For a few minutes now, but that's not important right now,_ Gwen said _. You need to remember that you're here because you won five contests already. And don't you dare forget that you've beaten Grace a few times too. And Lisia would not have picked you as her protégé if she hadn't seen something in you. And, in all honesty, students almost always surpass their master if they study hard and practice. So, tell me, have you not been training hard all this time?_

May smiled. _I have been._

 _Then you're going to win this. Believe me!_ Gwen said enthusiastically.

May giggled silently. _Thanks, Gwen. That means a lot._

"And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The first perfect score of the contest comes with the fifth appeal, courtesy of Chaz and Macherie!" came Vivian's voice over the television in the dressing room. May looked shocked at the announcement.

"That moron got a perfect score?" May said quietly.

"Yeah, and it wasn't a fluke either," Lisia said. "That combo of Thunder Punch and Flamethrower was incredible."

May looked worried, then she watched the short replay, immediately getting furious, clenching her jaw. _That's exactly what I was planning to do. Chaz was spying on me while I was practicing! How did he even watch us without us knowing_

Lisia saw May's reaction, getting worried. "M-May, are you alright?"

"That…appeal stealing…jerk!" May said without fully hearing Lisia. The top coordinator looked more shocked now.

"What do you mean?" Lisia said, her tone serious now.

May heard Lisia this time, turning to face her, now starting to get choked up in frustration, like she was about to cry. "That was exactly the same appeal I was planning. I practiced it with Miranda, Gwen, and Brendan for a month, and that jerk just goes out there and steals it!"

Lisia looked angry now too. "Damn it. He just broke an unspoken rule for contests. You don't steal another coordinator's appeal," she said.

Grace walked over after having overheard their conversation. "Is there anything that can be done now?"

Lisia sighed angrily. "Not unless you can prove that you were planning on performing that appeal too. May, do you have any videos of your practice sessions?"

May now looked like she was about to cry. "No, Gwen would take mental notes for us when we were practicing, but we never took video," she said.

Lisia seemed upset as well. "Then, as much as it pains me to say it, you'll need to improvise."

That's when Chaz came back into the dressing room. "Well, Lisia, I guess you're thinking that I'm clearly the better choice for your stu-" Lisia made him shut up by slapping him across the face with all her strength, leaving a red handprint.

"So, you just weren't smart enough to come up with an appeal of your own. You had to steal May's appeal." Lisia said, her anger overflowing in her voice. "I will NEVER take a student as pathetic as you!"

Chaz just smirked. "Whatever, I just sealed my position in the battle rounds. I wonder how your little protégé will do when she can't perform what she practiced."

May clenched her fists tightly, then she went calm, something that sent a chill through the room. "No, I won't let your underhanded tactics beat me," she said as she glared at Chaz and walked toward him. "I may not be able to perform what I prepared, but Miranda and I are closer than you can imagine." She stopped right in front of the boy, starting to raise her voice in anger. "We even managed to beat and capture Kyogre together in Sootopolis. Something like you stealing my routine?" May scoffed slightly at the boy. "Don't insult me, you little prick!"

When she said that, not only did Chaz go pale, but the entire dressing room went silent and they had their undivided attention on May.

"M-May, is that really true?" Grace asked with a tone bordering on disbelief. May looked at her friend and smirked confidently, telling Grace that there was no exaggeration. Grace looked like she was in awe now. Was her friend really so strong a trainer that she took on the embodiment of the ocean?

Chaz shook his head. "Liar. Kyogre doesn't even exist," he said.

May smirked as she went to her bag, pulling out the Master Ball containing the Sea Basin Pokémon that she kept there. "Do you want to bet?" _Hey, Gwen, tell Brendan that I have a new plan for the contest appeal. I don't want him to worry about me._ She turned to Lisia. "Hey, Lisia, is there a way to make the stage expand for a massive Pokémon?"

"Umm, y-yeah I could help arrange that, but…" Lisia's eyes went wide. "May, you're not actually considering using Kyogre, are you?"

May took out her Pokédex in response, scanning the Pokéball for a full list of the Sea Basin Pokémon's attacks. "Yes, I am. Chaz seems to be giving me no choice this time, so I need to go to more extreme measures."

"But, can you even control that Pokémon," Lisia said.

"Don't know, maybe I can't. But Kyogre is the only Pokémon in my possession that I have yet to use in a contest, and he has attacks that no other Pokémon can perform," May looked confident now.

"Grace, you're on in five minutes," said the contest organizer, whose nametag identified her as Harley. With the surreal note, Grace walked out to the stage, composing herself, silently smirking as Chaz now looked worried. Lisia followed shortly to speak to the organizer.

"Ma'am, I'm really sorry about this, but there's a problem," Lisia said.

"Hmm…Ms. Lisia, what's the issue?" Harley asked.

Lisia took a moment to explain May's entire situation to Harley. "So, she needs to make a last-minute change in her Pokémon," Lisia asked.

"I'm sorry, I want to help, but the rules are set. All coordinators must use the Pokémon that they registered with for each round of the contest. I can't change the rules for anybody, not even you," Harley said, clearly conflicted.

Lisia sighed. "Alright, I understand. Thanks anyway," she said in a disappointed tone. "I'll let her know." She walked over to May, who was looking at the Master ball in her hand. "May, you should put that back on your belt."

May looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I couldn't convince the organizer to let you switch your Pokémon. You'll need to use Miranda this time, but you'll need to improvise a new routine on the spot," Lisia said.

May cursed under her breath. "I really hate Chaz," she said quietly. "Miranda already perfected that appeal. It took about a month of planning and practice. It's not fair to her that she'll need to go out and do something she's never even practiced with." May's tears began to well up again.

Lisia put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you can both do this. I think I have an idea for you to blow them away."

May looked interested as she let out Miranda, knowing the Blaziken needed to hear the new plan. "Okay, what is it?"

"Alright, first step…"

* * *

In the crowd, Brendan was fuming. "How did we not notice that douche? He had to have been watching us at least once while we were practicing, so how'd we miss him?" he said through gritted teeth.

 _I don't know, I honestly don't know. And I should've been able to sense him…unless he has a Pokémon that lives on Route 110, put a camera on its head, and had it film us for him,_ Gwen cursed a little. _I thought I sensed and Electrike that was spending a lot of time watching us one day, but I just assumed it was territorial._

That was when Grace came on stage. "Alright, Arya, time to shine!" She sent out the Beautifly that Brendan and May had seen in the Petalburg contest when they had first met Grace. Arya then looked at Grace, nodded, and flew up into the air, spinning slowly as she used a soft Silver Wind, sprinkling the stage with a gorgeous array of silver dust. Arya then combined Sunny Day and Morning Sun. The attack made the stage glitter and sparkle with a rainbow. Arya then used a new take on Gust, drawing all the powder toward herself, then firing a glittering, rainbow Solar Beam. It went straight up, before she used a Signal Beam to hit her Solarbeam. It resulted in multiple fireworks going off over the stage, wowing the audience. Arya landed on Grace's outstretched arm and they both took a bow.

The audience erupted into cheers, and the judges talked among themselves, putting the final score at a perfect 30. "And another astounding performance from Grace, one of the top-runners of this contest. With that score, she has likely secured her spot among the four who will move on to the battle round." Vivian said happily. Grace took another bow before leaving the stage.

* * *

Back in the dressing room, May and Miranda had just cleared all of their concerns. The routine they now had in mind was one they knew would get them a perfect score, even if it was improvised.

Lisia, however, had another talk with the organizer, Harley, in the back of the room as the next coordinator went forward. "So, I think you and I both know that May and I will be in the battle rounds too. Would it be possible to make it so I battle Chaz first?"

Harley smiled deviously. "You want to teach the kid a hard lesson?"

"Not officially," Lisia said, smirking back.

"I'll make sure it gets done," Harley said before touching her earpiece and getting back to business. "Sam, you're on in five minutes!"

Back with Miranda, May smiled brighter than before. "We can do this," she said. All the performances were superb with no mediocrity among the ranks, so far, making it clear that this was not a contest where May could relax. It was thoroughly enjoyable to watch for them, but sure enough, the call came.

"May, you're on in five minutes," Harley said.

May smiled, returned Miranda, and walked to the tunnel. "I can do this. I can do this," she said.

"And now, we're down to our last two coordinators. It's now time for the rising star of contests, and the student of Lisia Rain. Here's May!" Vivian said. May stepped onto the stage, her keystone bracelet on her wrist and she had a moment where she felt everything, yet felt nothing at the same time. It was a moment where she felt like everything she had been through was culminating to this exact moment. She took a breath before throwing out Miranda's Pokéball.

"Miranda, let's show them what we can do!" May said as she sent out her first Pokémon. Miranda appeared on one knee and her fist planted on the ground. May raised her arm, putting her keystone across her heart, touching it. "Alright, Miranda, MEGA EVOLVE!" This earned multiple gasps through the crowd. Other than Lisia, nobody else ever used Mega Evolution in their appeal. Even the judges seemed already impressed. Miranda began to glow and her body morphed into her Mega form. "Now, you know what to do from here!" Miranda threw a Thunder Punch into the ground, causing exactly twenty rocks to fly into the air, electricity coursing through them already. Miranda then powered up a Blaze Kick, getting a running start before flipping upside-down and beginning to spin on her head almost like a break-dancer, kicking out her legs easily, breaking through the rocks, which were still charged with electricity, releasing it into twenty columns of lightning that stayed in place for a while. Miranda then flipped back to her feet, leapt in to the air, and charged another Thunder Punch, drawing the electricity to her hand as she flew overhead. She landed smoothly, starting to get faster with her speed boost ability, and she then gathered flames into a Flare Blitz attack. She then leapt high into the air, spiraling as she ascended to nearly 40 feet in the air. She seemed to stay suspended in the air as she spun around her z-axis, sending the combination of fire and electricity into the air around her, almost like she was using a Discharge attack. She then took a dive, the remaining fire and electricity still surrounding her as she did a superhero landing, sending the electric fire into the sky, making her temporarily look almost like a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball Z.

 _Well, Kamehameha to you too!_ Gwen said jokingly to May. May smiled, and she giggled happily as Miranda stood back up before both trainer and Pokémon took a bow simultaneously.

The crowd was in silent shock for a while, but they all then stood up and broke into roaring applause, as did all the judges. May could even see Brendan, Gwen, her parents and her soon-to-be in-laws, and they were all cheering, Brendan even whistling for her. She then turned to the screen, seeing that she had a perfect score.

She couldn't contain her excitement as she leapt into the air, hugging Miranda and laughing with elation. _We did it, we improvised our way to the battle rounds!_ May thought. Miranda reverted to her normal form after that, and the two walked off the stage, seeing Lisia waiting for them.

"Well, what'd I tell you? If there's anything that wins the judges over more than anything else, it's seeing the bond between a Pokémon and trainer," Lisia said. "Mega Evolution gets them every time."

May gave Lisia a quick hug in response. "Thank you for your help," she said. "Now, go out there and kill it." Lisia smirked and touched the brooch necklace she was wearing, showing off her own keystone.

"Oh, Ali and I plan to," Lisia said. "There's a reason I only do appeals once per year." She began walking toward the stage, stopping before the crowd would be able to see her.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment of the appeals round that you've all been waiting for. It's a special treat that only comes for the Grand Festival. You know her, and you love her. Give it up for Hoenn's top coordinator, Lisia Rain!"

The crowd then went nuts, a few of the people in the crowd even trying to claw their way forward to get better pictures of her. Lisia smiled to the crowd and waved before readying Ali's Pokéball.

"Alright, Ali, let's rock it!" Lisia said. The cloud-winged dragon-type flew majestically from his Pokéball, chirping beautifully. "Now, you know the plan!" Immediately, Lisia touched her keystone and Ali's form began to change. The fluffy downy feathers on his belly moved to his back, forming a five-pointed star of fluff, while he grew more fluff around his neck just under his jaw line and another set of feathers growing from the top of his head, making what looked like a hat. Finally, his tail extended to about three feet long. Once his transformation was completed, Ali began using Cotton Guard repeatedly, filling the stage with fluff, but he flew around the outside to make sure he was still visible. He then began using Dragon Pulse to burn off major pieces of the pile, quickly making it take a faintly humanoid shape with a strange bulge near the center. That's when the fairy dragon shouted, using Hyper Voice to remove the excess, making a perfectly detailed fluff statue of Lisia laughing brightly while she held a fluff statue of Ali. The entire crowd gave an "aww" before Ali flew into the air and began to glow pink as he gathered fairy energy. He fired the Moonblast at the statue making it break apart beautifully. He then flew down and Lisia did exactly what Ali had created with the statue. She happily laughed with her Pokémon nuzzling her before they took a bow.

 _Wow, she really is a great coordinator. To focus a Hyper Voice to do something like that is beyond impressive,_ May thought, a sentiment which Gwen and Brendan both mentally agreed. It was no surprise, then, when the perfect 30 showed up on the screen.

"Now, that's it for the appeal round. We hope you enjoyed that, but we will now be moving to the battle round!" Vivian said as Lisia and Ali came into the tunnel to greet May. "The judges have made their decisions quickly, and here they are!"

May looked at the screen, seeing that Lisia was paired against Chaz, while she was to go against Grace. "This should be fun," May said.

Lisia patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, and I promise you that Chaz will not get a pass for what he did today."

"Good, I wouldn't want him to go free," May said. "Just make sure he's humiliated."

Lisia scoffed playfully. "Oh please, like there's any other way to expose a cheater."

The two girls shared a laugh at that statement. This battle round was going to be quite fun.

 **Hey everyone, glad I got this done in less than a month this time (I know, not much of a speed record, but oh well).**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, please leave a constructive review and let me know what you thought of the chapter and where I can improve.**

 **Anyway, until next time – jmoul18**


	46. The Pinnacle of Performance - Part Two

_The Pinnacle of Performance – Part 2_

Brendan sat in the crowd, ready to watch the battle rounds. "Well, May pulled that appeal off with aplomb," he said. "But Lisia was incredible."

 _I wonder if I could learn to control my Hyper Voice to that level,_ Gwen said.

"I'm sure that you'll get there eventually," Brendan said. Sylveon perked up when he spoke and she smiled at Brendan and Gwen. Behind them, Norman whistled in appreciation.

"You know, teaching Pokémon to control their attacks like they do in contests could be really beneficial for gym battles," Norman said. "A Slaking learning that level of control would be unstoppable."

"You and your non-stop training talk," Caroline said, laying her head on Norman's shoulder. "I swear, you're obsessive sometimes." Her tone told everybody she was just teasing her husband.

"Well, I guess that's what got us to this point. Think about it, if I hadn't been obsessive with training like I was, I wouldn't have become the Petalburg Gym Leader," Norman said. "And Brendan and May wouldn't have met, and they wouldn't have gotten engaged."

"Well, I supposed that's true," Caroline admitted.

Gwen simply smiled. Her new family was getting bigger now. The soon-to-be in-laws were already best friends. Not to mention that May was her best friend other than Brendan. And it was always good to have a good relationship with your trainer-in-law…if that was how it worked.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, we've come to the time for the first round of the battle round. We'll be starting off with the battle between Lisia and Chaz!" Vivian said. "Let's hear it for them!"

The crowd roared with excitement as Hoenn's top coordinator entered the ring, but very little seemed to be directed toward Chaz. The two walked in side-by-side, and they had a clear tension between them.

Lisia turned to Chaz, glaring at him. "You know, we may not be able to prove you stole May's routine, but I can guarantee you that you'll never win a Grand Festival that way," she said.

"Tch, what do you know? I'm going to win this anyway, so maybe you should have respect for the next top coordinator," Chaz said.

 _I do respect her, in fact, I've never had a closer friend before. If she can beat me, then I will know that I've done a good job at teaching her_ , Lisia thought. She just smirked to Chaz. "You won't even get to stand on the podium for the award ceremony."

They then separated and walked to their respective spots on the battlefield. "Chaz, Lisia, you both know the rules: five minutes on the clock, one-hundred points each. The one with the lowest score by the end of those five minutes, or the one who runs out of points first will lose the round. The clock starts when both of your Pokémon are out of their Pokéballs and ready to battle. Start when you're ready."

Wordlessly, both coordinators sent out their Pokémon, Macherie looking nervous when she saw Ali was her opponent. The clock started at that moment. "Ali, we aren't holding anything back. Mega Evolve!" Lisia said as she touched her keystone. Ali transformed to his puffy Mega Evolution. That alone dropped Chaz's points to 90.

"Macherie, be careful. Start with Ice Punch!" Chaz said.

"So, you tell your Pokémon to be careful, then you go and give a reckless command? Pathetic," Lisia said quietly. "Ali, dodge, then use Hyper Voice!"

Chaz looked worried, knowing that Lisia had decided to punish and humiliate him. And indeed, Ali did just that for his trainer, using an incredibly powerful, yet refined Hyper Voice, blasting the Machoke with sound, making the Pokémon stop and cover her ears, trying to hide away from the sound.

Unfortunately, with her inability to respond and Chaz's lack of composure becoming increasingly obvious, it took a record speed of twenty seconds for Chaz's score to hit zero. The buzzer sounded, and the crowd was in silent shock. "Oh, my word, ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have a new record of taking only 20 seconds to defeat an opponent in the battle round, and it seems it was a win by knockout as well!" Vivian said, and indeed she was right. Macherie was out cold. "It seems that Chaz was just outclassed by Lisia Rain." Chaz recalled Macherie, scowling in anger at his abysmal performance on the biggest contest stage in Hoenn.

"That wasn't even a challenge. My talents deserve a real opponent, not some punk who can't even come up with his own routine for the Grand Festival. Instead this guy had to try and sabotage May by stealing her routine," Lisia said. This earned stunned gasps from the audience. Lisia as if to affirm what she had just said. "Unfortunately, I don't have video evidence, but I'm positive that Chaz has it. He would have needed to keep it in order to study the performance."

Ali flew over to the other coordinator, plucking his phone out of his pocket, holding it so that when he lunged for it, his thumb hit the unlock button. Ali flew over to Lisia and the coordinator scrolled through his pictures and videos, taking no time to find what she was looking for. "Yep, here it is," she said as she gave the phone to Vivian. "Project this onto the screen, please."

"Oh, s-sure," the announcer said as she was a bit caught off-guard by this request. She took it over to the technician booth, and they plugged it in, projecting the image onto the screen. The audience and the judges all watched intently as they watched a video filmed with leaves and grass on the edges of the camera lens, indicating that the one who filmed it was doing so in secret. In the main frame of the shot was a video of May, Miranda, and Gwen. When Miranda began to perform the exact same appeal that Macherie had performed on stage, the crowd gasped again.

"There you have it," Lisia said. "May was clearly planning on performing this appeal well before the contest. But, consequences will have to be decided on later." Lisia's gaze turned into a mixture of confidence and excitement. "Ali and I are quite anxious to battle my student." She walked off the stage, leaving Chaz in shock as he sat on the ground on his hands and knees, staring at his hands. He had just been thoroughly defeated and now he could face the consequence of possibly being banned from contests for the next year. Not to mention the fact that the likely irreparable damage done to his reputation would stop him from getting into another contest circuit in another region.

That was when two security guards showed up and grabbed Chaz, one holding the coordinator's phone as they escorted him off the stage and out of the contest hall. All of this was accompanied by stunned silence. Once the kid was out of the arena, the focus of the audience returned to the stage.

"Well, that was interesting, and it seems we had an improvisation tonight. Now, moving on from the disgraceful coordinator, let's go to the next round of the semi-finals but I can say with certainty that this next battle will be one to remember. Please put your hands together for May and Grace!" Vivian said. May and Grace both walked out to the center of the battlefield before facing each other.

"May the better coordinator win," May said as she held out her hand.

Grace shook May's hand. "Yeah, let's make this one for the record books," she said.

The two coordinators went to their respective sides of the field, and Vivian seemed to beam happily. "Well, as a nice change of tone, we went from a battle of what felt like disdain, to a battle of friends!" she said happily. "Now, you both know the rules, so, the time begins once you send out your Pokémon!"

May held Miranda's Pokéball close to her chest. "I'm counting on you. Give it your all," she said as she sent out the Blaziken.

"Arya, let's dazzle them!" Grace said. The Beautifly came out of her Pokéball and spun happily.

"Well, no need to hold back, right? This is the Grand Festival after all," May said as she touched her keystone, starting the mega evolution, which finished in ten seconds. Those ten seconds were worth it, since they made Grace's points drop to 90.

Grace smiled. "You know, I never told you something…I once traveled to Alola with my husband. During that time, I managed to learn an interesting technique that the Alolans developed. It's similar to Mega Evolution because it requires a strong bond, but it works with all Pokémon," she said as she showed off her bracelet, which had a strange stone sitting in it. It wasn't a keystone, but May could tell it had some power. "They're called Z-Moves, but unfortunately, I can only use it once per battle."

May seemed surprised. "So, it's like a one-shot cannon," she said. "Then I'll need to win before you can use it."

"Good luck with that. Arya, use Gust!" Grace said. Arya began to beat her wings hard, making a small cyclone.

"Miranda, Flame Charge!" May said. Miranda sprinted in a circle, going the opposite direction of the Gust attack, gradually gaining speed and canceling out the attack. That dropped Grace's points to 80.

"Very well, Arya, use Quiver Dance!" Grace said. The Beautifly began to dance by floating in a "V" type motion. Her speed and special abilities both increased as she danced, making May's score drop to 90.

"Miranda, use Bulk Up!" May said. With the Blaziken's speed already increasing gradually, she took a deep breath, seeming to get bigger, and increasing her physical power and defenses. This dropped Grace's score to 70.

"Now, use Bug Buzz!" Grace said. Beautifly began to make an irritating and loud sound. Miranda flinched a bit at the sound, causing May's score to drop to 75.

"Miranda, don't let it get to you. Use Thunder Punch!" May said. Miranda began to gather electricity around her hand before she leapt into the air and delivered a powerful punch to Arya's body. The attack was strong enough to knock Arya back, dropping Grace's points to 50.

"Well, this is a fun battle, and I would expect nothing less from you," Grace said as her bracelet began to glow. "Now, Arya, it's time for Supersonic Skystrike!" Grace said as she held her arms out, almost flapping like a bird, before she crouched down, and jumped up again, thrusting her left hand into the air and holding her right hand in front of her chest. Arya became surrounded by a powerful aura before she launched herself into the air, going far above the open ceiling of the stadium. Once she got high enough into the air, she dove back at Miranda, accelerating almost dangerously fast, creating a sonic boom just as she passed the opening. There was no time for Miranda to respond as the Beautifly slammed into her, making a pillar of energy fly up. The Pokémon struck hard and fast, and Miranda flipped back fast, barely landing on her feet. The impact dropped May's score rapidly, putting her at 35, and with the time limit now below one minute, she needed to go for the knock out.

 _Shit, I can't let myself lose this one. Otherwise, I can't rightly call myself Lisia's student,_ May thought. "Miranda, I know that one hurt, but I need you to use Flare Blitz!" she called. Miranda nodded as she launched herself at Arya, her body becoming electrically charged and bursting into a comet's tail of flames. The Blaziken moved fast, infusing a Thunder Punch into the attack for good measure. Arya, who was trying to slightly recover from the Z-Move, didn't have much chance to dodge as she took the full force of the incoming attack. She wound up landing on her side just as Miranda did another superhero landing, but she grimaced as she took the recoil damage. But, when the buzzer sounded, May saw that Grace's score had hit 25, which was now identical to her own score. Regardless, the judges had declared a knock out. "Wait, that actually worked?" May said quietly.

"Well, I have to say that I may need a breather after that battle," Vivian said. "That was an amazing battle. We not only saw a Mega Evolution, but we also witnessed a legendary Z-Move, which is rarely seen outside of its home region of Alola. Now, we'll have a ten-minute intermission for May to heal Miranda before the final battle between her and Lisia!"

* * *

Eight minutes, and a healing for Miranda later, it was finally time. Lisia came up behind May in the tunnel to the stage, ready for a pre-match talk.

"Hey," she said, getting May to nearly jump out of her skin. "Woah, calm down there. It's just me." Lisia laughed at her friend as she said that.

May sighed. "Damn it Lisia, don't sneak up on me like that," she said through a slight laugh.

"I can tell you're nervous. Just relax. Trust me, when you battle up here for this title, there's nothing that quite compares. You'll shut out all else except your opponent and the Pokémon," Lisia said. "After all, this round will be what decides it all."

"Well, let's make it one to remember for the rest of our lives," May said, holding out her hand.

Lisia slightly surprised her by giving May a hug instead. "I will always remember this battle, believe me," she said as she pulled back. When they heard Vivian make her announcement that the final battle was about to commence, Lisia just smiled. "Now, let's do this."

May just nodded as she walked with Lisia onto the stage. It was almost surreal, as if all she could see in the crowd was Brendan, Gwen, and their families. Despite physically hearing everything, all she could hear was Vivian's call for the match to start.

"Alright, Miranda, one last time for this year, let's dazzle them!" May said.

Lisia smiled widely as well. "Ali, come out and let's show them what we're made of!"

Simultaneously, both Lisia and May had their Pokémon Mega Evolve, getting their Pokémon into their strongest forms. Since both trainers had the Mega Evolution, there was no loss of points for either.

"Now, Miranda, use Bulk Up!" May said. Miranda took her deep breath, strengthening her attacking and defensive abilities. That dropped Lisia's points to 97.

"Ali, Cotton Guard," Lisia said. Altaria began to puff up his downy feathers, making them much thicker, boosting his defensive powers significantly, which dropped May's points to 94.

"Now, use Flame Charge!" May said. She knew it wasn't very effective, but she was going for a strategy that she felt in her heart would win this for her. Miranda leapt at Ali as she was coated in flames. She body-checked Ali, sending him higher into the air and speeding herself up.

"Ali, fly up and use Hyper Voice!" Lisia said.

 _Here it comes,_ May thought as she watched the dragon type fly into the air and angle toward Miranda. He inhaled deeply, which May took as the signal. "Miranda, Protect!" Miranda took a quick knee, crossing her arm as she generated a field of green energy. As Ali screamed, the sound put deep cracks into the battlefield, but it didn't do any damage to Miranda. Her attack having been blocked, Lisia's score dropped to 90.

"Not bad there, May," Lisia said with a smirk. "But I just baited you there. Ali, Aerial Ace!" May's eyes went wide as Ali began to dive fast.

"Miranda, counter that with a Blaze Kick!" she said. As Ali flew at Miranda, the Blaziken's foot lit on fire and she spun fast, striking Ali's body just as his beak hit her in the chest. Both May and Lisia lost points, putting them at 70 and 73 respectively.

"Ali, use Hyper Voice!" Lisia said. She knew there was little chance for a response at this distance. May smirked subtly. Like Lisia said earlier to her, that previous attack had been bait. She still had a secret weapon.

"Miranda, Poison Jab!" May said. Just as Ali was rearing back to shriek again, Miranda slammed a purple-glowing fist into his chest. Lisia looked shocked as her points dropped to 55, and she noticed Ali take on a sickly color.

"When did Miranda learn Poison Jab?" Lisia asked.

"Well, to be honest, I taught it to her so she could battle Gwen and have a better coverage move. I was just keeping it secret, but I guess now is as good a time as any to unveil it," May said with a shrug. Ali, however, was not going to give up just because of that hit. He reared back, and, before May could notice, let loose with a Hyper Voice. Miranda was launched back as she took some damage. She slid across the ground, bracing against the attack, which dropped May's score drastically, making them hit 45. However, Ali was forced to stop by the poison status that Miranda had inflicted. That dropped Lisia's score to 50.

"Great job, Ali!" Lisia said. "Now, use another Aerial Ace!"

May smiled, as she noticed Miranda rhythmically jumping from foot to foot. "Miranda, ready both a Poison Jab and a Thunder Punch," she said. She knew Miranda's Speed Boost ability was making the Blaziken unbelievably fast, and she intended to put that speed to good use.

Ali flew in, knowing he was going to land his attack, grimacing as the poison hurt him again, dropping Lisia's points to 45, but he would not let Lisia down. They had been through too much together to just make this an easy win for May, if the student indeed was to defeat the master. Miranda, however, was feeling just the opposite. She loved May too much to not win this battle, and she knew she would have to give it her all to achieve that, especially with how strong Ali was proving to be. Had it not been for the poisoning, she was sure that this would be more one-sided.

Just as Ali was about to strike, however, Miranda moved. She first hit him under the jaw with a Poison Jab uppercut, followed by a Thunder Punch to the stomach. Ali's eyes bugged out a bit as he took the hits, but he powered through, pecking at Miranda's face once he'd just barely recovered enough.

 _This is getting intense,_ May said as she looked at the board briefly. She had 25 now, while Lisia was sitting at 20. _But if we risk it, we can do this._ May thought. "Miranda, let's do it once more. I need you to use Flare Blitz!" Miranda looked confident now as she surrounded herself in blue fire and she leapt at Ali, moving like a cannonball.

"Ali, we need to do the same. Use, Hyper Voice!" Lisia said. Ali reared back, and he let loose with a loud shriek. The sound began to hit Miranda as the Blaziken flew at him, making May's points drop steadily. Just as May's points hit 11, Miranda collided with Ali. The entire crowd held their collective breath as they watched the points drop. May's points stopped at exactly 1, but Lisia's points kept going until they hit 0.

The buzzer sounded, but May was still processing what had just happened. "Wait, I…won?" she asked in surprise. Lisia and Ali walked over to her, the former wrapping May in a hug. What May saw on her friend's face, however, was unexpected. The girl was crying, but she was smiling all the same.

"Congratulations, it seems I can't call you my student anymore," Lisia said happily before turning to the audience and switching on a microphone May didn't realize her friend had been wearing. "Ladies and Gentlemen, with bittersweet joy in my heart, I officially will declare, with you all as my witnesses, that there is a brand new top coordinator of the Hoenn region. Let's all give a huge round of applause for both May and Miranda for their incredible victory here!"

As she said that, Gwen took Sylveon off Brendan's lap, and smiled at him. _Now's the time to ask her formally. Go get her,_ she said as she teleported Brendan to May's side. At that moment, he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her a bit, only to catch her at a 45-degree angle and kiss her in front of the entire audience. This earned plenty of whistles from the crowd, and one person even gave a "WOOOOOOOOO!" May didn't care what sounds they were making. All that mattered to her in that moment was Brendan. All too soon, however, the moment had to end as he brought her back to her feet.

"Well, that was certainly a pleasant surprise," May said with a smile, suspecting that there was another reason for Brendan to be up on stage.

"Well, I know you already said yes in the Cave of Origin, but back then I didn't have the ring," Brendan said as he pulled the box out of his pocket, getting an excited gasp from the audience. "May, in this past year we've been through so much together, but through it all I never once found myself in a moment that I wasn't thinking about you." He got on one knee. "I love you, and I know beyond a doubt that we were meant to be together." He opened the box, and May gasped at the beauty of the ring she saw. She couldn't stop herself from letting out some tears of joy, not caring if they messed up her mascara. "Will you marry me?"

May pulled him to his feet and kissed him again as she hugged him around his neck. She pulled away and smiled. "Yes, I will marry you. You know I will," she said through tears of joy.

"Well, folks, let's hear it for both the new top coordinator, and the lovely couple. Let's wish them a happy life together!" Vivian said, causing a standing ovation, which Norman and Gwen started simultaneously. May started to cry more openly with joy. Her first journey had effectively come to an end for her part. Now, it was time for her to focus on Brendan's journey.

* * *

Back in the dressing room, May and Lisia were getting back into their street clothes, Grace having left shortly after the trophy ceremony, when Lisia started talking after a comfortable silence.

"You know, I'm actually glad that you won today," she said with a shy blush.

May looked curious at the comment. "How do you mean?"

"Well, I never really told you this, but my goal was never truly the top coordinator spot. I'm looking to take over the position of chairwoman of the Hoenn contest circuit," she said.

"Wait, really?" May asked with intrigue,

"Yep, but before I took the job, I decided that I wanted to make sure the position of top coordinator went to one who really deserved it," Lisia said.

"So, that's why you decided to take me on as your student?" May asked.

"Kind of," Lisia said. "I took you as my student because I was realizing that the talent was limited to Chaz and Grace. The former of whom was denied for obvious reasons, and the latter of whom was too skilled for me to be of much help anyway. You were neither, but you had such potential that I knew you were the perfect student."

"So, this was all a way for you to make your dream come true?" May asked.

"Yeah, but I helped you achieve your dream along the way, didn't I?" Lisia said.

May just giggled slightly as she played with the ring on her finger. "You did much more than that…Lisia you're my best friend. You've done so much for me that I can't even begin to repay you," she said. "To be honest, I actually planned to ask if you'd be the maid of honor at my wedding."

Lisia didn't hesitate to nearly strangle May in a tight hug. "Of course, I'll be your maid of honor, but I know your wedding isn't for a few years, so we'll have to plan stuff later."

May just continued to smile softly. She honestly couldn't have imagined a better way this Grand Festival could've gone. And the celebration was sure to be amazing back at home.

* * *

 **Well, that's it for May's contest circuit. Coming up next is the arrival in Ever Grande and the start of the Pokémon League Tournament preliminaries.**

 **Strange that we're approaching the two-year mark of when this story was first published, and I can't help but wonder if I'll be able to finish it by that same date this year.**

 **As for my next project, I can say I've been handwriting a lot for that, and I can say that it will be significantly darker than this story has been, and there will be little to no romance.**

 **Well, that's all for now. Until next time ~ jmoul18.**


	47. Keep Calm

_Keep Calm_

Just under a month after May's win at the Grand Festival, Brendan and Gwen were just disembarking from a ferry with May, after they had landed in Hoenn's Capital, Ever Grande City. It was already about 10 at night, so they knew they needed to hurry to the Pokémon Center for Brendan to register. Luckily, the Pokémon Center was not too far from the docks, so they could move normally.

"This is one hell of a nice city," Brendan said as he took in the scenery. "But then again, I suppose the capital city of Hoenn would have to be something like this."

"I know, the Edo-period Johto architecture for the league headquarters was an excellent choice," May said as she looked at the city they saw. There was also a section of the city that looked like an Olympic athlete residency. In the center of the city, Brendan saw a mountain with an opening at the base.

They all walked to the nearby Pokémon Center and approached the tournament registration booth. The girl at the registration looked up at them. Admittedly, she was very cute. She had her short black hair that barely went past the top of her neck, and it was in a style that had her bangs about halfway down her forehead and parted a bit off from the center. And, even though May wasn't exactly looking, she noticed that the girl had even bigger curves than she had herself, bordering on DD-cups. On her lapel was a nametag that said _Zinnia_. "Name, hometown, badges, and ID, please."

"I'm Brendan Maple, from Littleroot Town," Brendan said as he handed the woman his trainer card and his badge case. She looked up at him, scanned the badges to ensure their validity, and then back at the trainer card.

"I'll need to see you without your hat on," Zinnia said, clearly not enjoying the fact that she needed to ask such a formality.

Brendan sighed and did as she asked. "Damn, I probably have hat hair," May, however, blushed at how nice Brendan's hair actually looked without his hat on. Even though his hair was a tousled mess, it looked cute on him.

Zinnia looked back at the card. "Well, everything checks out. You're all set," she said. "But, I do have a personal request."

Brendan looked at her with some aroused interest. "What is it?"

"Well, see, my three-year-old daughter, Aster, is a huge fan of yours. Unfortunately, even though she really wanted to, she's not able to get here for the event to meet you," she said with a slight blush as she set up a digital camera on a tripod on the registration table. "So, I thought that me taking a picture with you would help cheer her up."

"Of course, do you want to get Gwen and May in there too?" Brendan said.

"Oh, absolutely!" Zinnia said as she set up a timer on the camera for 20 seconds. "You all get into position, this will make Aster so happy!" Brendan took a few steps back and put his hat back on. Gwen took a position to Brendan's right, with May on his right. Zinnia ran forward and took a knee in front of Brendan, smiling so wide that her eyes closed as she put up two peace signs. The camera flashed as the picture was taken. Zinnia stood back up and went to the camera to see the display.

"Yes, this is perfect! Thank you so much!" Zinnia said as she hugged Brendan, then she went to hug May, and finally Gwen.

"It was no trouble. Tell your daughter that I'm glad she's my biggest fan," Brendan said with a smile. Zinnia then typed in a few commands and printed out both a rule pamphlet and two room keys before handing it to Brendan. She then did something that made both Brendan and May blush: she kissed Brendan on the cheek.

"Sorry if that was out of nowhere, but even if it wasn't much, what you did for me means more than you could know," Zinnia said. "Best of luck to you in the tournament."

"Thank you very much," Brendan said as he left for the residence.

Zinnia was about to sit back down when one of the three nurses of the Pokémon Center walked up to her. "Zinnia, you have a phone call. I'll take over for you here if you want."

"Oh, thank you," Zinnia said as she stood up with her camera, and she went to the backroom where the phone was. She picked it up.

"Hello, this is Zinnia," she said.

On the other side of the call, came a choked-up voice of an elderly woman that the girl knew. "Zinnia, this is your grandmother," she said. "I'm calling from the hospital."

Zinnia got worried, her mind going immediately to Aster, who had been born with leukemia. Since her birth, Aster had been practically hooked up to life support. Zinnia had been desperate with bills piling up, so she had joined Team Magma when they offered her a good deal. It had left a bad taste in her mouth since she was one of the Lore Keepers of Hoenn. She knew that waking up Groudon or Kyogre would doom the world. However, she had no skills that would get her a job that paid enough to cover the medical bills. She wasn't proud of her actions, but she did what needed to be done. Once Rayquaza had appeared over Sootopolis, though, she had gone to Ever Grande and taken a job as a registrar for the League Tournament. Now, however, that all seemed to be a meaningless effort and tainting on her life.

"Grandma, did something happen with Aster?" The crying that broke out on the other end of the line told the woman the truth of the matter. Tears immediately fell from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Zinnia. She started coding while she slept. The doctors did everything they could but it wasn't enough," the old woman said. Zinnia dropped the phone onto the nearby desk with a loud clatter, falling to her knees and shrieking with unimaginable agony, something only the worst fortune can bring about: the pain of a mother losing her child.

* * *

When Brendan and May got to the hotel they'd be staying at, they immediately saw a person that they hadn't expected to see here. "Wally? Is that you?" Brendan asked when he saw the boy. The Petalburg native looked up at the sound of his name.

"Brendan, May, Gwen! How are you three? I haven't seen you all since Mauville!" he said as he ran over to them.

"We've been great, I'm just surprised to see that you're here," Brendan said. "You must have been booking it to get your badges in time."

"Yeah, take a look!" Wally said, holding his badge case out, which had seven of the eight badges that Brendan had, but he didn't have the Rain Badge, nor did he have the Balance Badge. Instead, he had two other badges Brendan didn't recognize. "I got the last one just after that whole incident in Sootopolis."

"Well, great job with that," May said.

"And I should say the same to you, Miss Top Coordinator," Wally said. "I loved that performance, in all honesty."

"Thank you, I appreciate the compliment," May said.

 _Is Sammy doing alright still?_ Gwen asked, seeming hesitant to ask that question.

"Oh, he's great, but he's resting for now. We had a good training session earlier today, so he's a bit tired," Wally said. "But, I promise you'll see him later in the week."

 _Sounds like you're talking shit_ , Gwen said with an eyebrow raised.

"I just might be, but only in a friendly way," Wally said. Brendan, however, was just smiling. The boy before them was not that sickly kid he met so many months ago in Petalburg. He was clearly healthy and more confident, and he had an air of strength to him. It was strange, but Brendan felt a sense that this boy was not the same one he had helped with catching a Pokémon.

"By the way, Brendan, did you hear the rumors about the qualifying tournament?" Wally said, breaking Brendan's mild trance.

"I didn't, what are they?" Brendan asked.

"Well, the best way to describe it is that the planners made something completely unheard of before. You saw the cave in that mountain, right?" Brendan nodded, starting to guess where this was going. "Well, it seems that will be the battle ground for the qualifiers. The details are unclear, but it should be interesting."

"Not just interesting; it's genius," Brendan said. "Honestly, as fun as it is to watch battles in a stadium, it can get boring if there are forty on the same field."

May smiled, but she knew that they had the opening ceremonies at noon tomorrow, and Brendan would want to be up early to prepare. "Well, Wally, it was great to see you again, but it's getting late. Come on Brendan, let's go get into our room, and settle in for the night," she said.

"Yeah, I think you're right, May," Brendan said. "Like she said, it's great to see you here Wally, but just realize that I'm coming out on top." He gave a nod of respect to Wally. "Have a good night, and I will see you in that stadium by noon.'

"Good night to both of you as well," Wally said with a wave as the others went to the elevators. Brendan hit the button for the tenth floor, and they ascended quickly.

"So, it'll be a new type of tournament. I wonder what it will entail," Brendan said.

"I guess you'll just have to wait until tomorrow," May said teasingly.

 _Yep, and I can tell that Goldenrod is ready for it. After that solid month of training after the Grand Festival, I doubt there's anybody who can stop us now,_ Gwen said.

"Huh, it's been a while since you called me that nickname," Brendan said.

 _Well, I decided to use it for old-time's sake,_ Gwen said with a sweet smile.

"It seems like a great idea, since it shows how close you two are," May said with a slight blush.

* * *

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the beautiful Ever Grande City. It's now 11:55, and it is time for the opening ceremonies to begin! My name is Caesar Flickerman and I will be your host for the events of this next week," the announcer said from his booth in the optimal seats in the press booth. The stadium was massive, seating over two hundred thousand people comfortably. It was an incredibly beautiful stadium, with red support pillars made of concrete and steel around the entire structure. It was almost as elegant as Juan's gym, but not quite as eccentric.

May cheered as she sat in the one place she had not expected to be: the Devon Corporation's luxury box. Steven Stone had decided to invite the Maple and Birch families to the seats, so May was sitting with her family and soon-to-be in-laws. "So, May, how does it feel to be the coordinator's version of the Pokémon League Champion," Steven said as he sat beside her.

"Well, I'm still trying to comprehend it, but so far it feels great. It's like my dream came true that day," May said.

Steven smiled slightly at that statement. "It was the same way for me when I became Champion," he said as he looked at the battlefield. "It happened down on that same battlefield where I beat the champion before me. I remember it like it was yesterday."

May looked over at Steven in shock. "You're the Champion?" she asked.

"I was, but I had to step down from the position for personal reasons. The current champion is actually in the next box over to the right, the Elite Four and Champion's box," Steven said.

May looked over, seeing four interesting people. The first was a red-haired man with the sides of his head shaved down and the rest of it was slicked back. He wore a red button-down shirt, a black vest from a tuxedo, and a pair of khakis. Based on what she knew of the Elite Four of Hoenn, which was rather limited since they seemed to be a secretive bunch, May guessed that that man was Sidney.

Beside him was a Polynesian-looking woman with two floral clips in her hair, which was very short and dark, a blue clothe top around her chest, and a long blue skirt with white tropical flowers printed on them. That woman had to be Phoebe.

Next to her sat a woman in a flowing icy blue dress, with her blonde hair tied into four braids that seemed to float in the air behind her. She even had a cool demeanor about her, telling May that this woman was Glacia.

The last one she saw was an old man in what looked like an admiral's coat with a similar sailing hat with both leggings and boots fit for a sailor. Under his coat, however, he didn't wear a shirt, which showed off his astonishingly well-sculpted body considering his age. What really drew attention, however, was the man's epic moustache that extended out past his jawline. This was clearly Drake, and of all the members of the Elite Four, May could somehow sense that he was by far the strongest just by the aura of sheer confidence he exuded.

Other than them, however, May saw nobody. "Steven, are you sure the champion is over there?"

Steven smiled. "The man probably just went in to mix a mojito, and that's something I'd be willing to bet my fortune on. Every league tournament without fail, he has one each day," he said. Sure enough, true to Steven's word, a very familiar face appeared from within the box as he headed to his seat with his mojito in-hand.

"I knew it," May gasped when she saw Wallace, who had now donned a long white cape. "Ever since Juan greeted him as his student, I knew it."

"Yes, I figured that detail wouldn't slip past you and Brendan," Steven said with a grin. "But, by this point, I doubt I could take over my old role as Champion. If I did, I doubt anybody would even want to try for the position.

"Now, without further ado, please help me in welcoming our 40 qualifiers!" Caesar said. From the two tunnels at each end of the battlefield, came the forty trainers, with twenty on each side. They all waved in different directions except for one who wore a long blue trench coat, with hair that almost looked silver, and with riding goggles on his head. He definitely looked stoic, but he also seemed like he had a dark past.

May leaned over to Steven. "Hey, do you know who that guy with the trench coat is?" she asked.

"Oh, haven't you heard about him? It was all over the news. His name is Wes, and he comes from Agate Village in the Orre Region. He used to be part of a criminal gang there, but he wound up changing his ways and rescuing the region during a time of crisis," Steven said.

"Woah, so now he's a regular trainer?" May said.

"I wouldn't call him 'regular.' If anything, that man is on-par with Brendan, if not stronger," Steven replied.

"Now, this looks like a fantastic group of trainers," Caesar said. That was when Brendan became visible with Gwen by his side. "I don't think I've ever seen a more fit group of trainers, and it clearly shows that they are not to be trifled with."

Down on the field, Brendan could feel the tracer bracelet that the officials had given to all the competitors on his right arm. In his pocket, he had what looked like a GPS of sorts. The reason for the two devices was not clear, but Brendan figured it had something to do with the tournament being held in Victory road. That was just further confirmed to him when he saw that there were multiple jumbotrons around the stadium.

That was when the referees came out, the head referee speaking. "Now, trainers," he said into his microphone. "You've been told the rumor that this tournament will be unlike any other before it. So, I will now explain the rules to all of you." There was a slight stirring in the audience. "The entirety of the tournament will take place inside Victory Road. You will all be teleported by a team of Abras to a random location within the cave. The cave's exits will be blocked until you are the last trainer who still has Pokémon that can battle. Each battle is a full 6-on-6 battle. Teaming up with other trainers is allowed, but if you do, each trainer of a duo may only use 3 of their Pokémon, in a trio, the limit is 2, and so on. If you lose in as a team, then every trainer in that team will lose. Once a trainer has lost, we will have an Abra teleport them out of the cave and to the Pokémon Center."

The crowd kept murmuring in excitement, but the referee continued anyway. "Trainers have all been provided with a tracer band and a tracking device that will map out the entirety of each floor and where each trainer is. Tracer bands cannot be removed until a trainer is eliminated from the tournament. The positions of trainers on that map will be updated every five minutes. Trainers have each been provided with twelve Full Restores and six Revives in an effort to keep the battles fair for all parties, but items may only be used after the battle. A losing trainer will not be allowed to keep his or her bag of items, and the trainer who defeated them may take the items for themselves." The crowd was now definitely excited, and Brendan could tell that Gwen was feeling the same way. "There are a lot of strong wild Pokémon inside Victory Road, so caution is advised. There will be no time limit for this tournament, so there will be live streams of the battles for spectators on both the screens above, and on the screens in their hotels." For the last rule, the referee turned toward the Elite Four's box seats. "The trainer who wins the tournament will be awarded with the opportunity to challenge the Elite Four, and then the Champion for his title."

The other referees all took out Pokéballs and sent out Abras as that last rule was stated. Caesar then gave a farewell to the trainers. "Good luck trainers, may the odds be ever in your favor." When he said that, the Abras used their power.

* * *

Brendan and Gwen both blinked, as the loud roar of the crowd was now silent and they were in the middle of a massive cavern. Farther away, they could hear the sounds of wild Pokémon. Nearby, however, there was next to nothing.

 _Well, we're finally here,_ Gwen said. _The Pok_ _émon League Tournament_.

 _And I don't know if we'll even need this tracer. I've got you to help me find people,_ Brendan half-joked.

 _Well, why don't we do that? It'll make the audience wonder how we're doing it,_ Gwen said. _By the way, we have a person already running this way. Want to keep this terrain for the battle?_

Brendan looked around and saw that there was no water nearby, so people with fish-type water Pokémon would be at a disadvantage here. On top of that, the ceiling was high for Avery to battle freely. _This should be perfect,_ he thought. Just as he did, the first person came around the corner to Brendan's left. "Found someone!" the guy said. This person looked to be about 5'11" and he had brown hair in a military style, but his voice was one that Brendan had hoped he never heard again. Brendan looked at him and tried to put on a polite face.

"Francis, is that you?" he asked.

"Wait…bitchy Brendan?" the guy said in a cocky tone. "Damn, I can't believe how lucky I am. The first person I get to battle in this tournament is you." Brendan gritted his teeth as he remembered all the times when he lived in Goldenrod City where this kid had taken his lunch money, beaten him up only to leave him in an alleyway, and a whole slew of other forms of torment. "Seems I'm gonna be set to win this tournament after I beat you. And I'll bet you've been so scared o' me that I've been your greatest fear since we were ten."

Brendan sighed, keeping his cool as he realized how pathetic it was that Francis was still the exact same as he was until high school started. "Francis, I'm going to be honest with you here. I haven't even thought about you since you decided to start training Pokémon once you turned fifteen. In fact, seeing you now only tells me just how little all that matters anymore," he said as he saw Gwen getting a bit angry. "But, since it seems you're eternally fixated on me, why don't you stop being a bag of hot air and I'll show you exactly which of us should be afraid of the other."

Francis scowled as he took out his first Pokéball. "Your dad may have been the strongest Gym Leader in Johto, and he may be the strongest in Hoenn, but I'll still beat your ass. When I challenged him in Goldenrod, I got to his last Pokémon before losing, and I got to the same point when I challenged him in Petalburg."

Brendan just started to burst out laughing. "You're bragging about that? You challenged the same gym leader twice, and you lost both times. That's not an accomplishment," he said as he pulled out his badge case. "That's a sign that you haven't changed. You haven't progressed." Brendan pulled the Balance Badge from his case. "I beat Dad on the first try." Brendan put the badge and the case back in his bag. "Still think you want to battle me?"

Francis looked like he was about to erupt with anger. "Up yours! Go, Floyd!" he shouted as he threw his Pokéball, letting out a Machamp.

 _A Machamp? I've got this,_ Gwen said to Brendan as she stepped forward.

"And the little bitch has a little bitch for a Pokémon, how fitting," Francis said.

"Oh, trust me, she can be a bitch, but only to our opponents," Brendan said as he lifted his keystone bracelet, hitting the button and initiating Gwen's Mega Evolution. Francis, being from Johto, had never seen a mega evolution, and he hadn't met any trainers who could use it either. When he saw Gwen finish her transformation, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Cheating! Everyone knows that Gardevoir can't evolve!" he said. "Looks like I win by default!" Back in the stadium, unbeknownst to Francis, everybody was laughing at him.

"Actually, Francis, if you had paid any attention in school, you would already know about Mega Evolution. It's not something that a simpleton like you would be able to understand with a verbal explanation," Brendan said. "So instead, Gwen and I will demonstrate it for you."

"You won't get the chance. Floyd, use Focus Punch!" Francis said.

 _Gwen, how's your Hyper Voice since Lisia helped you train it?_ Brendan asked.

 _You really want to overwhelm him instead of toying with him to make it funnier?_ Gwen asked.

 _I like how you think,_ Brendan said. _Teleport just as he starts to attack._ It didn't take long before Floyd was running at Gwen. To anybody else, it might've been an unavoidable attack. To Gwen, however, it was child's play. She teleported just as she was about to take the hit, appearing behind the Machamp, who continued on and wound up punching a wall. Despite Machamp being rumored to be able to topple mountains with a single punch, Brendan had to chuckle a bit when the Pokémon recoiled, holding his hand like a boxer in need of ice. _Okay, let's take care of this one. No need to make his Pokémon suffer,_ Brendan said.

 _Sounds good to me,_ Gwen said as she raised her arm, making Floyd levitate shortly before throwing him into a wall, knocking him out.

"Arceus, it's like you didn't even train your Pokémon," Brendan said.

"Shut up pipsqueak!" Francis yelled. "Go Milo!" He sent out his next Pokémon, which Brendan knew as a Dugtrio.

 _Dugtrio is really fast by nature, be careful,_ Brendan said.

 _I know, I'll be careful,_ Gwen said with a smile. _You say that like I can't read your thoughts in my sleep._

 _Oh well, just use Psyshock. That should be enough,_ Brendan said.

 _Sounds good, but only once I embarrass this guy,_ Gwen said.

"Milo, use Stone Edge!" Francis said. The Dugtrio pushed through the ground fast, making a line of rocks shoot up. Without so much as opening her eyes, Gwen sidestepped the incoming attack then levitated multiple stones around the ground type before pelting it with the attack. The Pokémon fainted with that attack, earning a "tch" from Francis who recalled the Pokémon. "Damn it," Francis said. "Fine, I choose Kristine!" He threw out a Pokéball that released a massive Gyarados. While normally a Gyarados would swim in battle, this one was coiled like a normal snake with her upper body towering over the field.

 _You know, I honestly feel bad for these Pokémon. Their trainer doesn't know how to accept defeat,_ Brendan said. _Gwen, Thunderbolt whenever you feel like it_.

 _You got it,_ Gwen said.

"Kristine, use Hydro Pump!" Francis said. The Gyarados reared back and began to pump a massive stream of water at Gwen.

 _You know what? Turn that attack right back at him,_ Brendan said. _And infuse it the Thunderbolt._ Gwen smirked as she raised a hand, making the water turn back as she put in a Thunderbolt with the water. The attack struck Kristine directly under her jaw, electrocuting the sea serpent brutally. The Pokémon collapsed to the ground as she fainted.

"Okay, time out, time right the hell out!" Francis said as he recalled his Pokémon. "You're not even giving commands, that can't be allowed!"

Brendan sighed. "Gwen, go ahead," he said. "Let him hear you."

 _Oh, you mean like this?_ Gwen said loudly. _To make it easier for the douche to comprehend non-verbal commands?_

"Yes, exactly like that," Brendan said as he turned to Francis. "Now then, shall we continue this battle, or do you want to forfeit with some shred of your dignity."

Francis responded by throwing a Pokéball. "Go Isaac!" The Pokémon that came out was a strong-looking Arcanine. Brendan just sighed.

"Fine, we'll finish this. Just remember, I gave you an out," Brendan said. _Gwen, Psychic_.

Gwen raised her hand and Arcanine followed the motion. _Was this guy such a huge idiot while you were in school together?_ She asked.

 _He's worse now, and that's a high watermark,_ Brendan said as Gwen threw the Arcanine back. The Pokémon hadn't even gotten a chance to attack before losing the battle. _Seriously, I'm starting to really feel bad about doing this to the Pokémon. They probably worked hard to get here, but their trainer is a fuck-up._

 _Well, not much you can do about that,_ Gwen said.

"Leah, get out there!" Francis called as he sent out a Meganium.

"So, you chose a Chikorita when you started. Interesting, but let's see how she holds up," Brendan said.

"She's going to mop the floor with that sissy Gardevoir of yours!" Francis said. "Now, Frenzy Plant!" Leah slammed her feet onto the ground and made multiple massive roots to shoot up from the ground and fly at Gwen.

 _Child's play,_ Gwen said as she teleported sideways and let the attack just soar straight by her. _Sorry Leah, I swear this isn't personal._ She then used a powerful Hyper Voice, launching the Meganium back and knocking her out.

Francis gritted his teeth as he recalled the Meganium. "Let's go, Salvatore!" The Pokémon that came out this time made Gwen's eyes go wide with a fear she thought she had gotten over.

 _A Honchkrow,_ Gwen said, her worry evident.

Back in the stadium, the screens were showing multiple battles going on. Wally had beaten his first opponent in a close match, and Wes, the guy from Orre, was battling ruthlessly. May's attention, however, was on Brendan's battle. And when she saw Gwen's expression, she got worried too. "Brendan, switch her out, please," May pleaded quietly.

Brendan felt the same concern the others felt, so he was about to go for Jack's Pokéball when his arm stopped. Gwen gave him a slight, but meaningful glare. _No, I'm staying in this. I will not let this fear control me anymore. You're overcoming a problem from your past just the same as I have to now. So, let's do it together,_ she said before letting go.

Brendan nodded. _Alright, let's win this together,_ he said.

"Let's go for the kill! Use Brave Bird!" Francis said.

Gwen glared for a moment, but then, her memories of her late mother came to her. These memories were not of the fateful night. Instead, she thought about all the good times with Serenity, like when her mother would sing her to sleep, or when they baked her mother's Oran Berry pie together. She simply smiled happily. Now, when she saw the Honchkrow approaching in the flames of Brave Bird, even though she was going to teleport out of the way, she didn't feel any fear. All she felt was a new sense of closure as the attack missed her. _Let's end this farce,_ Gwen said as she gathered a pearlescent energy in the palm of her hand and straightened her arm, flattening her palm and giving another reference as she let loose the Moonblast. _BIG BANG ATTACK!_

Brendan chuckled as Francis fell to his knees in defeat. "Damn it, the bitch beat me," the former bully said as his body and his Honchkrow were teleported out of the cave. Their bag of items, however, were still there.

 _Well, he won't be needing these anymore,_ Brendan said as he got a total of 24 Full Restores and 12 Revives. _Well, that was an easy start. I doubt the rest of these battles will be that way._

 _If they were, then I would have serious doubts about the standards of the Hoenn Pokémon League,_ Gwen said with a smile.

 **Thank you all for reading this chapter. I have to say that I am surprised that I got this chapter out so fast. I don't know how or why, but I was just writing fast and smoothly.**

 **Next chapter, we will get a dose of both Brendan and Wally battling (neither against each other nor as a team), so I hope it's enjoyable.**

 **That's all I have for now. Until next time ~ Jmoul18**


	48. Bonds

_Bonds_

Wally was trying not to panic at this point as he looked at his scanner, seeing that the count of trainers was already at 35. He had beaten one of the five who had been defeated, but based on the locations of everyone on the map, he guessed that there were at least five more battles going on. He already knew that Brendan had won his battle against that Francis guy, but he wasn't too concerned with Brendan and Gwen. He was more concerned with the fact that, aside from Meredith, the Unovan girl he defeated earlier, he hadn't encountered anybody. It was strange, but even though it felt like this tournament was taking a long time, his clock told him that only ten minutes had passed.

"Damn, it doesn't feel right in this cave," he said as he kept moving. He barely avoided a pack of Lairon while he walked. He could easily beat them if he wanted to, but he knew that conservation of his Pokémon's energy would be key to winning this tournament. Then the next part would be to defeat Brendan. He already knew that he would meet and battle Brendan eventually. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew it.

"Alright, who's the closest person to me now?" he said with his map up in front of him. He looked over it before he noticed that there was somebody named Justin who was close when the scan was taken. "Might as well find him," Wally said. He ran in the direction that Justin had been in, and he thankfully didn't have to run far. Even though Wally knew his asthma was improving, and he hadn't had any trouble with it in almost a year, he didn't want to risk having an attack in the tournament. He knew that would be a bad way to end his try for the title.

A short distance away, Wally saw the guy he assumed to be Justin sitting by a small river. "Wally, right? I saw you were nearby on the last scan," he said. The guy looked like he was 17, and he was ginger and he had a lot of freckles. He stood about six feet tall and he walked with confidence. He extended his hand in greeting. "I'm Justin, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Very nice to meet you too," Wally said. "So, where you from?"

"Cherrygrove City in Johto. You?" Justin asked.

"Petalburg City in Hoenn," Wally said.

"Well, Wally from Petalburg, I guess the pleasantries are out of the way. Want to start?" Justin seemed confident.

Wally took the first of his Pokéballs from his belt. "I'm good to go whenever you are."

"Then let's go, Hailey!" Justin said as he sent out a Reuniclus a green cell-like Pokémon that almost looked like it had a torso and two arm-like appendages. "Well, let's see what you've got."

"I'll show you. Go, Wraith!" Wally said. The Pokémon that came out was mostly black with a grey head that looked like a tombstone surrounded by a grey collar. Over her head, the Pokémon had multiple gold rings around her elbows and forehead, with one that looked almost like a crown over her head. She had a single red eye and what looked like a jagged mouth of gold under two golden eye-shaped adornments on her body.

"Woah, a Dusknoir," Justin said with an impressed look on his face.

"Yeah, I met a guy near Mt. Pyre who had a Reaper Cloth, but he didn't have a Dusclops to utilize it. So, I briefly traded him my Dusclops so he could put the Reaper Cloth on it and trade her back to have her evolve."

"Interesting," Justin said. "Now, let's see how you work with her."

"Like this," Wally said. "Wraith, use Will-O-Wisp!" The ghost Pokémon made a small ball of eerie blue flames in her hands before throwing it at Hailey. The attack moved quickly, but instead of doing damage, the Reuniclus suffered a burn as her body was coated in smoldering flames.

"Damn, a bit sneaky there, but not enough," Justin said. "Now, use Shadow Ball!"

"Use Shadow Sneak," Wally said. Just as Hailey threw a ball of inky black energy at Wraith, the Dusknoir vanished into a shadow, making the attack fly overhead. Wraith then reappeared behind Hailey, and punched her. The attack didn't take out the Reuniclus, but it certainly did some damage. It made Wally silently wish that there was a way for battles to be monitored in the field the same way they were in gym battles. It would make life so much easier for trainers.

"Hailey, Psychic!" Justin called. Wraith looked at Wally, who just nodded. The ghost-type gathered a cloud of black mist and put it in Hailey's face, letting loose with a powerful Hex attack. Due to her having a burn, Hex doubled in power. Hailey collapsed and fainted on the spot. "Damn, that was really done well." Justin recalled Hailey and sent out his next Pokémon. What came out looked like a hellhound with black fur on the majority of his body except for around his muzzle and his belly. He also had two silver horns on his head, and three horizontal arches on his back that led to his arrow-headed tail.

"A Houndoom? Amazing!" Wally said. Silently, Wally was cursing his bad luck. Wraith was strong, but a Houndoom could definitely beat her.

"Liam is his name," Justin said as he crouched down beside the hellhound, scratching the Pokémon under the chin. "And yeah, he's really amazing. Let me show you just how cool he is. Liam, start with Nasty Plot." The Houndoom leapt forward and closed its eyes in concentration, then gave an almost evil smirk as his special abilities increased.

"Wraith, Confuse Ray!" Wally said. He wasn't confident that he could win this round, but he was positive that he would at least give Liam and Justin one hell of a time with a win. Wraith gathered three orbs of lights before sending it toward Liam. The Houndoom was mesmerized by the lights briefly before they spun around the Pokémon and then seemed to fuse with it. Liam then looked worriedly confused as he lost both his balance and his vision got blurry.

"Liam, I know you can hear me. I need you to use Dark Pulse!" Justin said. Liam shook his head, unsuccessfully trying to clear his head. He tried to fire a Dark Pulse, but he stumbled and fell hard onto its face.

"Alright, use Brick Break!" Wally said. Wraith levitated over to Liam, moving quickly as her fist glowed yellow and she swung hard at the opponent's Pokémon. The attack struck and did a lot of damage, but it also wound up knocking Liam back into his senses.

"Liam, use Dark Pulse!" Justin said. The Houndoom howled briefly before firing a beam of black, interconnected rings. The beam flew fast and slammed into Wraith, dealing enough damage for Wally to know immediately that Wraith was out of the fight.

"Wraith, you fought excellently. Return and get some rest!" Wally said. "Now, come on out, Paul!" The Pokémon that came out was almost all blue with orange cheeks. He had two black crests over his eyes, a black tail that almost looked like a boat's rudder, and each cheek had a set of three orange spikes. His arms were now fully developed and he seemed to be built powerfully. On his wrist was a steel bracelet with a piece of Swampertite. Wally's keystone was currently on a necklace, but he had another Pokémon ready to be the Mega Evolution.

"Paul, use Hydro Pump!" Wally said. Paul fired a stream of water, hitting Houndoom squarely. The attack did a lot of damage, and Wally could only smirk. Justin was good, but he wasn't on the level of the trainer Wally had been working to beat. _Brendan, you won't beat me this time._

* * *

"Clint, finish this with Leaf Storm!" Brendan said to Sceptile. Clint slammed the massive otter Pokémon, Samurott, across from him with a wall of leaves. The attack immediately ended his third battle of the tournament, which was against a girl from Unova, named Lillith. She was really good, but her Samurott wasn't quite fast or strong enough to beat Clint. Despite that, the Unovan Pokémon were quite formidable. The battle had actually been closer than usual, coming closer than any trainer thus far to beating Brendan, getting him down only to Gwen and Clint. But, Avery had done a number on Lillith's team and made it tough for her to recover.

"Well, that was a fun battle," Lillith said as she both she and Brendan recalled their respective Pokémon. The girl was fair-skinned, clearly a city girl, with nearly black hair. She was also quite pretty, but she was only about 16. Brendan stepped forward and held out his hand politely.

"You fought well," he said as he shook her hand. "Thank you for giving it your all."

Lillith smiled. "Well, you showed me that I need to train harder for the next year," she said. She then took off her bag and handed it to him. "Here are my items," she said. "Good luck in your next battles, especially since you probably only have two or three more left."

"Thank you. And you take care of yourself," Brendan said.

"Of course. Be sure to come visit the Unova region soon," she said. "I think you'd love it there…" she trailed off in what she was saying as she seemed to look behind Brendan. "I think your next challenge is here." With that, Lillith was teleported from the cave, and Brendan heard the footsteps behind him.

"So, I have a few questions for you before we battle, and I want you to answer me truthfully," the guy said. Brendan turned and saw the Orre-native, Wes, whose trench coat made him look like a bad-ass. His expression, however, conveyed a message that he was not up for any nonsense.

"Oh, uh sure," Brendan said, slightly caught off guard by the directness of this trainer.

"Is it true that you took out both Team Aqua and Team Magma single-handedly?" Wes asked.

Brendan was shocked that this person from Orre would know anything about Team Magma or Team Aqua. It was doubly surprising that Wes actually knew that Brendan had a direct hand in beating both groups.

 _Well, aside from the help that we got from May, yes,_ Gwen said, getting Wes to change his expression by raising his eyebrow to show interest.

"And the rumors that your Gardevoir can speak are true as well," Wes said. "I can tell that the two of you are close, as you should be."

"Well, thank you. But, before you go on, my Pokémon need to be healed. Mind if I tend to them now?" Brendan asked as he sent out the rest of his Pokémon.

"By all means," Wes said. He sounded very sincere when he spoke, even though his expression remained as unchanged as a statue. Brendan knelt beside his Pokémon and started to use revives on each of them. "So, my next question is whether you have heard of either Team Snagem, or Cipher."

"I think I saw a few news reports about them a while back, but nothing too big was mentioned in Hoenn," he said.

"Well, if I might inform you, I will let you know that Snagem is an organization that takes Pokémon from trainers by using devices called Snag Machines," Wes said. "Cipher was paired with Snagem to force Pokémon to close their hearts, making them into fighting machines that would attack humans unprovoked." He seemed to pause. "I was once a Snagger for Team Snagem. It's something I'm not proud of. But, when I found out that Cipher was taking those Pokémon I had snagged for evil purposes, I stole back the Snag Machine to undo all the damage I had done."

 _You referred to Cipher in the past tense. Is it not around anymore?_ Gwen asked.

"I don't believe so, but I've always suspected that they're still waiting in the shadows, licking their wounds," Wes said. "But they're keeping such a low profile that I can't find anything about them. So, I've decided to travel the globe to strengthen myself and my Pokémon in case Cipher does return."

"That's very honorable of you," Brendan said. "And I can tell that you're at an incredibly high level as a trainer. So, would you like to get this battle started?"

"Definitely, but you should know, where I come from, we specialize in double battles. Would you be okay with battling like that?"

"A double battle? Sounds fun to me," Brendan said as he finished healing Avery with a Full Restore and he began to recall his team.

"Then, let's begin," Wes said as he pulled out his first two Pokéballs. "Come on out Marshall and Corona!" The two Pokémon that came out were both typically found in the Johto Region. Marshall was a blue salamander-like Pokémon, who Brendan recognized as Quagsire, and Corona was a bear-like Pokémon with a cream-colored underbelly and black fur on his back. It was one of the Pokémon that Brendan had been considering choosing for his journey before the move to Hoenn.

"So, a Typhlosion and a Quagsire? I like it," Brendan said as he picked two Pokéballs off his own belt. "Then I choose Turk and Nikki!" When the Crawdaunt and Slaking appeared on the field, the two trainers got serious.

"I'll start us off. Corona, use Flamethrower on Slaking. Marshall, use Yawn on Crawdaunt!" Wes said. Corona's neck flames roared to life as he launched a stream of flames at Nikki. The Slaking, however, seemed unconcerned with the attack. Marshall, however, looked directly into Crawdaunt's eyes, yawning loudly. Since yawning is extremely contagious, Crawdaunt also yawned, his eyes looking heavy. Despite this, Crawdaunt still ran forward.

"Nikki, jump and use Brick Break on Marshall. Turk, use Crab-Hammer on Corona!" Brendan called. Nikki did exactly as Brendan asked, leaping into the air as her hand began to glow. She came down in front of the Quagsire and punched him in the stomach, sending him sliding back. Corona glared hard, but he was stopped by Turk running at him and punching him with a glowing claw. The attack launched Corona back, but he was still standing strong.

"Marshall, use Water Pulse on Nikki," Wes said calmly. "Corona, use Thunder Punch on Turk!" Marshall reared back and fired three balls of water at Nikki, who was still recovering from using her attack. The Slaking couldn't dodge it in time and she was hit with the attack. Corona then charged a Thunder Punch, and slammed her hand across Turk's body, doing severe damage to him.

"Nikki, Slash on Marshall. Turk use-" Brendan stopped himself when he saw Turk fast asleep. _No, not now,_ he thought. Item use was forbidden in battle, so Brendan was stuck with only one active Pokémon on the field, while Wes had two.

Wes smirked at that. "Corona, finish Turk off with another Thunder Punch," he said. Corona jumped at Turk, punching the Crawdaunt again, and knocking him out. "Now, Marshall, use Slam on Nikki!" The Quagsire swung his tail and hit Nikki across the chest with it.

"Nikki, Counter!" Brendan called out. Nikki recovered from the hit, then grabbed Marshall's tail. She then swung him as her entire body began to glow slightly. She then slammed Marshall into the ground the same way Hulk did to Loki in The Avengers. Needless to say, Marshall was out of the fight after that. Both Brendan and Wes recalled their respective water types before looking each other in the eyes.

"Damn, the rumors about you were true," Wes said with a smile. "I haven't seen an opponent this strong since Evice. Plus, this one's already much more fun."

"Well, I'm not sure who Evice is," Brendan said. "But I agree that this is much more fun than battling Groudon."

Wes just chuckled as he pulled out his next Pokéball. "Come on out, Walnut!" The Pokémon that came out was another Johto Pokémon. It was the bagworm Pokémon, Forretress.

"Huh, interesting. You have a wall on your team," Brendan said. "I guess my best choice is…" he threw his next Pokéball. "Jack, come on out!" The Camerupt came out and grunted, spitting out a small tongue of fire.

"Smart move…but I have counters to that," Wes said. "Walnut, use Stealth Rock! Corona, use Flamethrower on Nikki!"

"Nikki, use Crush Claw on Corona!" Brendan said. "Jack, use Eruption!" Walnut's four prongs launched and scattered pointed stones onto the fields. When they landed, however, they all vanished from sight. Nikki began running at Corona, her hands glowing as she extended her long and thick claws. Corona was rearing back at the same time, breathing a jet of flames at Nikki. Nikki was engulfed in flames as she charged forward, but she was still able to reach out and slash Corona across his body. Both Pokémon then fell to the ground and fainted. Jack, however, launched multiple magma-covered rocks, and they were all on target, hitting Walnut easily, but the Pokémon managed to hold on with a little health left.

"Nice job Walnut," Wes said. Brendan chided himself at that point, knowing he should've been careful about Forretress's Sturdy ability.

Both trainers recalled their knocked-out Pokémon, and took out their next Pokéballs. Wes was the first to send out his next Pokémon. "Go Affection!" The Pokémon that appeared was a dark purple ghost that looked like it was a woman with a witch's hat, a long dress, and three smooth, oval-shaped, orange gems around her neck. The edges of the dress and the hat were a lighter shade of purple, almost looking pink.

"A Mismagius?" Brendan said as he sent out Avery. The Latias, true to her nature, appeared beside Brendan and nuzzled his hand. Brendan chuckled as he pet her happily. She cooed softly before flying out onto the battlefield. Unfortunately, Stealth Rocks was still in effect, so Avery was pelted with multiple small rocks that seemed to leap from the ground. She shook it off, barely having been hurt by the attack.

"Well, your Latias reminds me a bit of my Umbreon," Wes said with a chuckle.

"So, an Umbreon is one of your last three Pokémon?" Brendan asked.

"Oh, no. My Umbreon is in the stands with my girlfriend, Rui," Wes said. "She doesn't exactly like battles, so she chose to be her Pokémon."

"Should've guessed a trainer of your caliber wouldn't give away any information about his team," Brendan smiled as he spoke.

"You're right about that," Wes said. "Now, Affection, use Taunt on Jack. Walnut, you fought well, and thank you for working so hard, now use Explosion!"

Brendan's eyes went wide at the order for Explosion. Wes was obviously very smart, using such a devastating Normal type attack when his other Pokémon was a Ghost type. But, Brendan was also smart, and he had come prepared for something like this.

"Both of you, use Protect now!" Brendan said. Avery was surrounded by green shields of energy. But, then, Affection began to glow slightly red, angering Jack and preventing him from protecting himself. Walnut then began to glow brightly as he gathered energy. And instant later, Walnut released the energy and caused an immense explosion, rattling the entire cave with its intensity. Gwen, acting on her instincts, ran in front of Brendan and threw up a Protect barrier in front of Brendan, blocking the attack to keep her trainer safe. Wes was just standing there with strength in his eyes as his coat flew back like a cape in the wind.

 _Thanks for that, Gwen,_ Brendan said as the explosion subsided. Walnut was on the ground, knocked out. Thankfully, Jack was still standing, but he was hurting. "Stay strong Jack. I know you can." Jack turned and nodded confidently toward Brendan.

 _No problem, Goldenrod,_ Gwen said. _Can't let my trainer get hurt like that._

Brendan smiled, then looked over at Wes, who was just shielding his face with his arm. "Very nicely done," Wes said as he recalled Walnut. "Now, I think I'll go with Munchkin next!" He threw out his next Pokéball, sending out a purple bulldog Pokémon with a massive lower jaw and two massive tusks on that jaw.

"Nice, a Granbull," Brendan said. "It's been a while since I saw one in battle."

"Yep, and he was actually the last Pokémon I added to my team while I was in Orre," Wes said with a smirk.

"He looks strong too," Brendan said with a smile. "Let's see how he does. Avery, use Dragon Pulse on Affection. Jack, use another Eruption!"

Wes smirked there. "Affection, use Psychic on Jack. Munchkin, use Play Rough on Avery," he said. Avery was the first to use her attack as she fired a stream of purple energy, aiming for the Mismagius. It was thankfully able to hit its mark just as Jack launched more magma-covered rocks from his back. Before they were able to land, Affection was able to grab Jack tightly with her power, throwing him at a stalagmite. The impact almost broke the stone apart. Brendan could tell that Jack was out of the fight from that. Fortunately for Brendan, Affection and Munchkin couldn't dodge Eruption, but, due to Jack being low on energy, the attack didn't do much damage. That was when Munchkin ran at Avery, his body glowing pink. He leapt at Latias, and started to punch, kick, and headbutt her. Avery, knowing she couldn't take too much of this attack, grabbed Munchkin with Psychic, and threw him at the ground by Wes. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it did stop Avery from taking too much damage.

"You know, Wes, I have to admit that you might be the strongest trainer I've faced so far," Brendan said as he recalled Jack, then grabbed Clint's Pokéball, his smile showing his confidence. "So, let's keep going. I want to see how you deal with Clint!" With that, he sent out his Sceptile.

"So, a grass-type," Wes said thoughtfully. "He looks quite strong."

"He definitely is," Brendan said. "Let us show you what we mean. Clint, use Sunny Day. Avery, use Dragon Pulse on Affection!"

"Affection, use Shadow Ball! Munchkin, use Fire Fang on Clint!" Clint shot a ball of light into the air, and it increased the heat as it seemed to act as a sun. Avery then fired another Dragon Pulse at the Mismagius. Affection couldn't avoid the attack in time, but she did fire off a powerful Shadow Ball. Avery, ever the playful Pokémon, simply flew up and dodged, not seeming to try too hard as she grabbed the Shadow Ball and dove at Affection like a Talonflame catching a Rattata. When she was about to body slam Affection, she let go of the Shadow Ball and pulled up from her dive. The momentum carried the Shadow Ball forward and it slammed into Mismagius. The ghost-type moaned in protest for a moment before she passed out.

At the same time, Munchkin's mouth began to burn with fire as he leapt at Clint. Acting on his instincts, Clint stepped to the side and used a fast Slam attack with his tail, making Munchkin faceplant hard. The dog stood up and shook himself out of the daze, glaring at Clint.

Wes gritted his teeth as he recalled Affection. "Well, that was really interesting. You have a smart and innovative Latias," he said as he pulled out a Pokéball. "But you're not the only one with Pokémon like that. Go, Saikou!" He threw the ball and it let out a pink feline with two hair tufts, and ruby on his forehead. His tail split into two halfway to the tips, his ears were very long and pointed, and his eyes were a light purple surrounding pure white pupils.

"An Espeon? That could be troublesome," Brendan said. "I think we can handle it."

"Can you? Saikou, use Dazzling Gleam!" Wes said. "Munchkin, use an Ice Fang on Clint!"

"Clint, Solar Beam on Munchkin! Avery, use Shadow Ball on Espeon!" Brendan commanded. Clint, using the Sunny Day earlier hastened the attack. He fired off the Solar Beam with nearly perfect aim. But Munchkin was not about to let the attack hit him. So, he jumped immediately out of the way, then, with his jaws misting with icy energy. He then ran at Clint and clamped onto the closest part of the Sceptile that he could, which just happened to be his right arm. Clint grunted angrily and, without stopping his Solar Beam, lifted his arm and forced Munchkin into the attack. When Clint stopped, Munchkin let go and fell to the ground as he passed out.

Avery fired a Shadow Ball at Saikou, but the Espeon just lazily opened his eyes, as if this was all beneath him. The Shadow Ball was instantly redirected toward Clint, speeding up to the point that Clint didn't even have time to look at the attack before it hit him with more than enough force to knock him out in an instant.

Saikou then took notice of Munchkin knocked out. It must have made him angry, because he glared and the gemstone on his head began to glow brightly. The attack made a sparkling field around Avery, multiple orbs of light exploding around the Eon Pokémon. Avery cried out with each explosion until they subsided. When they did, with her body still smoldering slightly, Avery collapsed to the ground.

Brendan was stunned by the attacks. "Woah…how is your Espeon so strong?"

"Unlike my Umbreon, Nyx, Saikou loves battling and he does it a lot. He's extremely competitive and he's protective of his friends," Wes said as Brendan recalled his Pokémon. "And, once he's angry, there's really not much that can stop him. Too bad, looks like you won't be getting the title this time."

Gwen smirked as she walked forward, exhibiting more grace than Brendan ever remembered seeing before. _Sorry, Wes, but you're wrong about that,_ she said. _I can definitely beat Saikou here and now._

Wes raised his eyebrow. "Quite the confident Gardevoir you have there," he said. "But is her bite as vicious as her bark?"

"Oh, trust me, she is quite vicious when she needs to be," Brendan said as he held up his left hand, showing Wes his keystone.

"Mega Evolution?" Wes said with curiosity. "I've only met a few trainers who have the necessary ability and the bond with their Pokémon. Seems this may be interesting after all."

 _Let's go, Gwen! Mega Evolve!_ Brendan said. He touched the keystone and the cave was flooded with light as Gwen took on her mega form. Wes, however, remained unfazed.

"I've faced the polar opposite of this," he said. "Pokémon with so much hatred, pain, and anger that they sealed their hearts off to everyone else. They were powerful…but I can say that the power I feel from her is immense. It makes me wonder…were the Shadow Pokémon on par with a Mega Evolved Pokémon in terms of sheer power?"

"Let's find out right now, how does that sound?" Brendan said

Gwen smiled confidently. _Ready when you are._

 _Then use the Double Team, Teleport, and Calm Mind combination. We'll need as much power as we can get here._ Gwen nodded and began to glow with a green aura as she created a virtual horde of illusory copies of herself. Wes and Saikou began to look disoriented as they tried and find the real Gwen. Meanwhile, Gwen was powering up. _Use Thunderbolt!_

 _So many copies to choose from,_ Gwen said as the clones all began to gather electricity between her palms. Her voice sounding like it came from every clone. _But, just like with Jango Fett, the army of my clones just isn't as good as the original._ The clones vanished as Gwen appeared behind Saikou and unleashed the electricity she had built up. Saikou couldn't dodge in time, so he countered with a Calm Mind of his own, hoping to buffer the damage, and it worked. Saikou emerged from the dust unscathed as Gwen teleported back to Brendan's side. _Although, I will admit that if I wind up getting a Boba Fett, that "clone" would most likely be able to_ _surpass me,_ she said to herself.

"Saikou, use Shadow Ball!" Wes said. Saikou gathered the Shadow Ball quickly, firing it at near Mach speeds. Gwen just raised a hand and caught it in midair.

 _That's pretty impressive speed_ , Gwen said as she made the attack bigger as she gathered more power. She then threw it back at Saikou. The Espeon once again deflected it. This time, it flew at the same stalagmite that Jack had hit earlier. The attack caused the entire rock formation to break.

 _Hyper Voice,_ Brendan said.

 _Good idea, he can't redirect that_ , Gwen said.

"Use Dazzling Gleam," Wes said. He had realized that Brendan and Gwen were using some type of silent communication, but what he didn't notice was Gwen taking a deep breath. It was too late once Gwen began to shout louder than anything Wes had ever heard. Saikou was hit by a powerful soundwave. The attack was intense, and Gwen was in complete control of the power behind it, so she kept increasing the power as the attack went on longer. Saikou then glared and a Light Screen appeared in front him. Brendan smirked at the intelligence Saikou was displaying. He had responded with an almost perfect counter to reduce the damage of the attack.

"Saikou, use Signal Beam!" Wes called. The gem on Saikou's head started to alternate between a red and green glow before firing a beam with a sine wave of those color inside it. It hit Gwen's center, making her slide back from the power. Gwen and Saikou both looked winded from the battle so far. It was clear that neither would be able to fight for much longer.

 _Gwen, you good to keep going?_ Brendan asked.

Gwen looked at Brendan like that was a stupid question for her to ask. _Brendan, you remember the promise we made to each other when this journey started?_

 _How could I forget?_ Brendan said.

 _Well, we've come so far, and we've gone through so much together,_ Gwen said with passion in her voice. _I don't know about you, but I refuse to just lay down and give up when we're this close._

Brendan smiled at her words. _Well, I won't give up either. If we're going to lose, we do it fighting at our best._

Gwen smiled back as she quietly gathered the energy needed for both a Shadow Ball and a Moonblast, but she did it subtly and making them both in the blind-spots of both Wes and Saikou. _Then let's finish this now._ She lifted her hands to get a psychic grip on the two orbs of energy, then she clapped her hands in front of her, making the Shadow Ball and the Moonblast both fly at Saikou. Like it had been with Clint, Saikou didn't even have time to look before the attacks struck and exploded around him. The dust settled quickly, but Wes could already tell that the battle was over. Gwen then reverted to her normal form

"Damn, you two really are strong," Wes said as he recalled Saikou and walked over to Brendan, extending his hand. "That last bout was all the proof I needed that strong bonds with your Pokémon will always trump pure power."

Brendan smiled and shook Wes's hand. "You needed proof?"

"No, this just made it more abundantly clear that Mega Evolution is stronger than even the strongest power that can be achieved with anger and hatred," Wes said.

"Well, if you travel to Alola, I've heard you could learn a power similar to Mega Evolution. I'm sure you could try something like that," Brendan said.

"You mean Z-Power? I'll consider it," Wes said. "But Rui would have to agree to that first." He smiled again. "Anyway, you'd better win this tournament. If anybody here can even pose a challenge the Elite Four of this region, it's you."

 _We promise we will_ ,Gwen said as she smiled sweetly. Wes gave a slight salute as a farewell before he was teleported from the cave.

* * *

In the stands, May was cheering lightly with all people in the audience applauding the amazing battle they had just seen between Brendan and Wes. It very well could have been the best battle of the entire tournament. A close second had to be the battle that Wally just won against the guy from Cherrygrove.

Another surprise had come earlier in the day when Caroline's Sylveon had warmed up to May so much that she was now sleeping in her lap. Caroline was also sitting next to her, smiling as she looked at Sylveon. "She must smell Brendan on you," Mrs. Maple said.

May smiled. "I sure hope that's not the only thing that made her like me," she said.

"I know it's not the only reason, but, for Sylveon, it may really be all she needs to like anybody," Caroline said with a smile and a reminiscent tone. "It's funny, I raised Sylveon since she hatched. I love her, and I know she loves me no matter what."

"Sounds like you and her were very close to each other," May said with a smile.

Caroline laughed slightly. "But…when Brendan was born, her affections shifted. She went from being beside me to always being with him." Caroline reached over and pet Sylveon's ear. "In fact, one of my favorite memories was from when Brendan was learning how to walk. Sylveon would hold him up with her ribbons to help him get more confidence."

"Aww," May said. "She's such a sweetheart."

"She is, but just so you know, when you and Brendan start your own family, there's a good chance that your Pokémon will want to protect them," Caroline said. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Gwen did exactly what Sylveon did for your kid."

May blushed. "I think that's likely," she said. "To be honest, I think Gwen is too sweet of a Pokémon to not be protective of her family."

Caroline laughed again. "No question about that," she said.

* * *

On the opposite side of the stadium, a nineteen-year-old girl with orange hair and blue eyes sat in stunned silence as the Umbreon in her lap had her ears pulled back sadly. "Well, it seems that Brendan was just a little stronger," she said as she scratched the Umbreon behind one of her ears to comfort her.

"Breon?" she cooed softly.

"It's okay Nyx. Brendan just had a better day today, that's all," Rui said. "Besides, Wes will have better luck in the next region we go to." She then stood up, carrying Nyx in her arms as she walked from the stadium. "Let's go find Wes and get some drinks."

* * *

 **Before I go into my own author's note, I want to give credit for the nicknames of Wes's Pokémon (and all the Pokémon on his team), which were those used in the Pokémon Colosseum Let's Play done by Chuggaconroy (I highly recommend watching it, because there are a lot of great moments).**

 **I hope you all liked this chapter, and I know you probably want to ask me why I went through Wally's battle so quickly compared to Brendan's. Well, the reason for this is simple: I need to leave a few surprises for his battle with Brendan next chapter.**

 **Well, that's all for now. Until next time – jmoul18.**


	49. A Rivalry Ends

_A Rivalry Ends_

Brendan and Gwen both sat for a moment after using the last of his items to heal his team after the battle with Wes. They were at the entrance to a very beautiful area of the cave that had grass growing and some waterfalls around them. He was getting tired as well, this tournament being much more difficult than Brendan had expected. He knew it had only been about three hours since the tournament started, and at the rate that trainers had been knocked out of the tournament, Brendan was wondering how many trainers were left. He pulled out the tracker as his five-minute timer went off and his eyes went wide. "There's only one other trainer left in the tournament," he said in surprise. He then used the touch screen of the tracker and pulled up the tag identifying the trainer.

 _No way! Wally?_ Gwen asked.

"Seems like it," Brendan said. "I should've guessed he got stronger based on how confident he was back in the hotel." He then pulled out his cell phone and started typing a message to Wally.

 _What are you doing?_ Gwen asked.

"We're the last two trainers in the tournament. We might as well group up and get the battles over with," Brendan said. "And he's nearby. Want to wait here for him?"

 _We may just need to walk a little further,_ she said. _I think I see him and Samuel higher in the cavern._

Brendan looked up the cliff, seeing the boy from Petalburg on the cliff almost like he was sending them a silent challenge from above. Brendan took the message. "Gwen, could you teleport us up there?"

 _Sure. No reason to waste energy climbing,_ Gwen said as she put her hand on Brendan's shoulder and they teleported up to where Wally was standing. Behind him, Samuel was waiting. He had originally looked confident, but Brendan noticed his eyes go wide and he started to blush when he saw Gwen.

"Hey Brendan. I had a feeling that we would meet up here," Wally said. "In fact, it's where I planned to battle you."

Brendan looked at Wally curiously. "Why is that?"

"It feels strange to say this," Wally said as he walked over to the blooming flowers. "But it's because of the flowers that grow here." Brendan, who had never been one for horticulture, stood politely and waited for Wally to explain. "They're red spider lilies, they commonly bloom in cemeteries, and they are used to symbolize something unique. It's believed that they also bloom when you're meeting a person you will never see again."

Brendan looked at Wally curiously. "And what, exactly, do you mean by that?"

"Well, to be honest, while I may still be Wally, I've changed a lot since we battled in Mauville…and infinitely more since Samuel and I first met," Wally said.

 _So, you're saying that this battle will be the last we all see of the timid, sickly Wally?_ Gwen asked, her tone showing sincerity and it sounded like she was impressed. She too had noticed Samuel's blushing, especially since he would suddenly take an intense interest in the floor of the cave each time she glanced his way.

"That's exactly what I mean," Wally said as he stood up, his expression beyond confident. "So, are you two ready to begin?"

Brendan saw what Wally was talking about. The person before him was not the same one he had met in the Petalburg gym. He could see this person was much stronger, and healthier for that matter. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Then let's begin," he said as he picked a Pokéball from his belt. "Come on out Wraith!"

Brendan pulled Jack's ball from his belt at the same time. "Let's do this. Go Jack!" Brendan's Camerupt and Wally's Dusknoir appeared at the same time. "Wow, you got a Dusknoir? She looks strong," Brendan said. "Jack, use Eruption!"

"She is, now let her show you. Wraith, Shadow Ball!" Wally said. The two Pokémon launched their attacks. Jack fired the cluster of magma rocks into the air, and, at the same time, Wraith fired the Shadow Ball. The attacks both hit nearly simultaneously, but the damage was negligible.

 _Interesting, Wraith is actually pretty strong,_ Brendan thought. "Jack, use Flamethrower!" he said. Jack spat a stream of flames at Wraith, but Wally was ready for it.

"Wraith, use Shadow Sneak!" Wally said. The Dusknoir vanished into the ground, making a shadow as she raced at Jack. The Flamethrower hit the wall of the cave behind them and it made a red-hot crater in the wall behind Wally. Wraith then appeared behind Jack and punched him between his volcano humps. Jack grunted loudly with the hit and the ghost-type returned to Wally's half of the field.

Brendan grimaced as he saw the sheer strength behind Wraith's attack. It reconfirmed to Brendan that Wally hadn't just gotten to this level by mere chance. He was damn good at training his Pokémon. "You surprise me, Wally. You've definitely improved since Mauville," Brendan said.

"As have you," Wally said. "But I think Jack will have trouble when he's confused. Wraith, use Confuse Ray!" Wraith gathered four orbs of eerie purple light in her hands before throwing it at Jack. The Camerupt couldn't dodge in time as the orbs seemed to fuse with his body, making him stumble as if he had been drinking heavily. Brendan silently cursed when Jack fell to his side from his dizzy stupor. It looked like the fall did some damage, but Brendan could tell Jack still had some fight in him. He probably only had one shot to win this battle.

"Jack, use Fissure!" Brendan said.

"Wraith, Destiny Bond!" Wally said. Just as Jack was powering up, Wraith sent multiple dark, solid tendrils at Jack. As the Camerupt stomped on the ground, making a massive crack appear and race toward Wraith, the tendrils wrapped around Jack loosely. They then vanished from sight, but as the Fissure hit Wraith and knocked her out, they reappeared with a dark, purple lightning. The attack seemed to electrocute Jack with enough power to make him fall to the ground, knocking him out.

Brendan recalled Jack. Despite being unhappy with the Camerupt being defeated, Brendan looked very impressed with Wally's strategy. At a moment's notice, even though there was only a small chance that Jack's attack would hit, he countered in a way that ensured that Brendan would not walk away with the win in that round. "Very well planned out," Brendan complimented.

Wally smiled. "Thank you," he said as he recalled Wraith. "Now, I think it's time to increase the intensity here." He then threw out his next Pokéball. "Go, Emilia!" The Pokémon that appeared was a white and pink bunny-cat with a bowtie and ribbons extending from her neck.

"A Sylveon? Your Pokémon must really love you," Brendan said before taking out his next Pokéball. "But so do mine. Go Turk!" The Crawdaunt appeared with a confident look on his face. Emilia, however, seemed to be even more confident, like she enjoyed battling just as much as Turk, if not more.

"Well, you should know that Emilia's blood runs very hot. She loves the exhilaration of a good battle," Wally said. "Think you can handle it?"

"We'll just have to see how much she loves it," Brendan said. "Turk, start with Dragon Dance!" Turk surrounded himself in a red aura, increasing his speed and strength.

"Emilia, use Echoed Voice!" Wally said. The Sylveon shouted, using the vibrations like a less-powerful version of Hyper Voice. However, it seemed to reverberate a lot more than Hyper Voice would have done. The sound waves hit Turk directly and powerfully, doing surprising damage. "Echoed Voice, it's usually Normal-Type, but now, it's Fairy-Type. It's thanks to Emilia's Pixilate ability."

"I see," Brendan said, slightly grimacing at the implications of that ability.

 _It's no different than with my ability when I Mega Evolve,_ Gwen said. _Just be careful._

 _I know, but thanks,_ Brendan said with a slight grimace. "Turk, use Aqua Jet into Crab Hammer!" Turk surrounded himself with water as he launched himself forward in a bullet-shaped trail of water as he flew at Emilia. Wally didn't say anything, and Emilia seemed to smirk confidently. Turk slammed into the Sylveon and clubbed her with his claw. It made her grimace, but then her ribbons wrapped around Turk's body.

"Another Echoed Voice!" Wally called. Emilia shouted again, her voice resonating much louder this time. The sound waves struck hard and launched Turk back across the field, only for him to land in front of Brendan, completely unconscious.

"Good job Turk, you fought well," Brendan said as he recalled the Crawdaunt. "Nikki, you're up!" Slaking appeared with her arms flexed and ready for battle.

Wally chuckled. "Of course, this seems to be a pattern of yours in battle. It's always Jack, Turk, and Nikki before you go to Clint, Avery, and Gwen. You tend to vary who goes in what order within those two groups, but it's always that pattern. I have no idea why, but I guess that's just your style."

Brendan was surprised to hear Wally say that, especially considering that this was their first full battle with each other. How much had Wally been studying his battle style? It didn't matter at this point, Brendan had to win this. "Nikki, use Slash!" he called, wanting to make this count. Nikki leapt into the air, her claws extending with a subtle glow. Emilia just dodged almost nonchalantly, using her ribbons to grab Nikki by the wrists and plant her claws into the ground with a redirection.

"Easy," Wally said. "Now, Emilia, use another Echoed Voice!" Emilia started to shout again, with the sound waves. This attack shook a few rocks loose from the ceiling.

 _Damn, we can't let Emilia use another Echoed Voice, or we might be buried. I wanted to save this for the Elite Four, but I guess I can't keep this attack a secret any longer_ , Brendan thought. "Nikki, time to use your new move!" _I'll have to thank that old gentleman I met in Petalburg a few weeks ago for teaching her this attack._ "Gunk Shot!" Nikki wrenched her claws from the floor, breaking some rocks free before she put her hands together. A moment later, she separated them and an orb of toxins formed between her palms. Steadily, the orb got bigger until Nikki was holding it over her head, and its diameter was as tall as Brendan. Nikki then threw the attack at Emilia. It was moving at such high speeds that neither Wally nor Emilia could process its approach. The attack struck and Emilia cried out with the impact as a geyser of sludge flew into the air. Nikki just leapt back to Brendan's side of the field. When the dust from the Gunk Shot faded, Emilia was out cold, completely out of the fight.

"Emilia, return!" Wally said. "You fought well, now rest up." He then put Emilia's Pokéball on his belt and pulled out what looked like a Great Ball. "Now, I'm counting on you, Ivy!" The Pokémon that came out looked like a living plant. Her hands were like bouquets of roses, red on the right and blue on the left. It looked like she had hair made of a type of raw cotton, and a dark green mask-like covering over her eyes. Around her neck was what looked like a gold necklace with a long leaf for a cape on her back.

"A Roserade," Brendan noted. "This'll be interesting."

"Especially with this. Ivy, use Toxic!" Wally said. Ivy's hands gathered a strange sludge before she threw it at Nikki. The Slaking tried to dodge, but she was still soaked in the toxins. When the liquid from the toxin evaporated, Nikki had a very sickly expression. "Now, use Ingrain!" The Roserade's feet began to extend, cracking the rocks beneath her as roots extended into the rich soil beneath her. As she did, her body seemed to lightly glow green.

"Nikki, use Façade!" Brendan said, hoping the attack would turn the disadvantage of Toxic into an advantage with this one attack. Nikki's body was cloaked in a golden light as she leapt at Ivy. The Slaking slammed her fists onto the Roserade, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. When they could all see, however, Brendan could see that Ivy had just barely held on. She then extended three green tendrils, which wrapped around Nikki. Then, what almost looked like green electricity lanced out as Ivy began to drain energy from Nikki.

"Nice job with that Giga Drain!" Wally said happily. "Now, use Solar Beam and end this round." An orb of bright light formed in her hands.

"Nikki, use Ice Punch before she can fire that!" Brendan said. Nikki closed her fist as icy energy began to gather around her hand. She then swung her fist at Ivy, hitting the Pokémon just as the Solar Beam fired. When the glaring light died down, both Nikki and Ivy were passed out.

"Another draw," Brendan said as he recalled Nikki. "This is getting interesting."

"Agreed," Wally said with a smirk. "Now, let's go to the next round. Go Jet!" He threw his Pokéball, sending out a falcon-like Pokémon with a grey and orange-speckled breast, and with orange plumage that looked like flames going out about halfway down his wings and his back, where they ended with what looked like a fire that led to jet black feathers. The tail feathers made four points, and the center two had three yellow lines that angled toward each other in a V-formation.

Brendan smiled and threw Avery's Pokéball out. "Come on out and let's battle!" The Latias came out with a coo as she shook her head cheerfully. While she didn't nuzzle Brendan this time the way she usually did, she still looked back and nodded reassuringly.

"Jet, use Brave Bird!" Wally said.

"Avery, use Thunderbolt," Brendan said. Jet flew high into the air, then began to dive. The speed behind his attack should have been much slower, but something was speeding him up in the process. He pulled out of the dive extremely close to the ground and flew quickly, gathering blue flames as he kept flying. At the same time, Avery had been gathering electricity. She was just about to discharge the attack when Jet struck, hitting with intense power. Thankfully, just as Jet was about to get out of range, Avery's attack hit her target, zapping the Talonflame quickly. Jet groaned from the voltage coursing through his body, and he winced as he felt the recoil from his attack, but neither Pokémon was about to give up on this battle.

"Jet, Flame Charge!" Wally said. Jet flew up into the air and flew directly at Avery again with flames erupting around him as his speed increased with his flight.

"Use Psychic!" Brendan said. Just before Jet got a hit in, Latias stopped him cold in his tracks with her power. She then decided it would be a fun game to bounce Jet on the ground like a ball. She even seemed to giggle sadistically as she did this.

"Jet, use Flamethrower!" Wally said. The bird spat out a stream of fire directly at Avery, hitting his mark for about five seconds before Avery slammed him into the ground again, knocking him out. Avery emerged from the flames with only some light charring on her body, looking happy at her win. Wally recalled Jet and sighed slightly. "You're great, Brendan. But I will not lose to you." He pulled his next Pokéball, throwing it onto the field. "Go, Paul!"

The Pokémon that appeared was the Swampert Wally had been given by Professor Birch all those months ago in Petalburg. "Well, he certainly looks formidable," Brendan said. "Let's see how strong he is."

"Given the damage that Avery's taken, this won't take long," Wally said. "Use Ice Punch!" Paul immediately made a fist that became surrounded in ice quickly. Moving surprisingly fast for a Pokèmon of that size. That was when Brendan noticed the claw pendant around Paul's neck.

 _A Quick Claw. It's unclear how it works, but if it's worn by a Pokémon in battle, it can make the wearer move faster on occasion,_ Gwen said.

"Avery, Energy Ball!" Brendan said. It was an attack he had only recently taught the Latias via TM. Just as Avery was gathering the energy for the attack, Paul struck. The Ice Punch was strong, doing enough damage to knock her out almost instantly. When she landed on the ground, Brendan was almost in shock. "Wow, Paul got strong, didn't he?" Brendan asked rhetorically as he recalled Avery. "But, I have to wonder if he's as strong as Clint." He then threw out his next Pokéball. When Sceptile came out of his ball and saw Paul, he immediately grinned competitively. Paul grinned back with the same fire in his eyes.

"Seems these two want to battle at their best," Wally said with a smirk.

"Well, Clint and I will not disappoint you," Brendan said. "Clint, start with Dragon Pulse!" Clint fired a stream of violet energy directly at Paul. Swampert would have none of that as he used a Mud Shot to break up the incoming energy. Before Clint could dodge, Paul hit his real target perfectly, sending Clint sliding back. Clint was now covered in mud that weighed and slowed him down significantly.

Clint just glared competitively before his forearm leaves began to glow a bright green color as they extended for a Leaf Blade. He then sprinted at Paul and began to slash at the Swampert with his blades. The Swampert tried to block for a while, but with an onslaught of these slashes, there was only so much he could take. So, Paul grabbed Clint by his right forearm, charging up an Ice Punch. He then slammed his fist into Clint's chin, just as Clint slashed Paul once more. The two attacks sent both Pokémon were knocked back, and knocked out simultaneously.

"Wow," Brendan said as he recalled Clint. "Three draws in this battle alone. This battle is very close."

"I know, this should be incredible for our last battle," Wally said as he recalled Paul. He then turned to his Gallade. "Sam, you ready?"

Samuel stepped out onto the field and smiled, specifically at Gwen.

 _Ready to get some payback on your childhood bully?_ Brendan asked.

 _Of course, let's make this fun too,_ Gwen said as she walked out onto the field, a sly smile on her face.

In that moment, both Brendan and Wally touched their Keystones, and a blinding light filled the cavern. When the light faded, Gwen was in the form of a Mega Gardevoir. Across from her, Samuel had transformed as well. The crest on his head had grown slightly taller and hooked forward like a light blue crescent. His two ears looked almost like fins on the sides of his head. Sam's entire body was white and he had much longer forearms that extended to look like blades coming from his elbows. Those blades had a red edge, and there was now a cape split down the middle on his back, making sure both sides were covered.

"Psycho Cut!" Wally said. Samuel's forearms began to glow blue and he swung each arm, launching a spinning crescent blade at Gwen.

 _Teleport, and then Psyshock!_ Brendan thought. Gwen nodded as she teleported, to the side as the Psycho Cut flew into the cave walls, leaving deep grooves in the wall. A small cluster of rocks then levitated into the air with a blue aura around them, which surrounded Sam for a moment before pelting him with the stones.

 _Now THAT felt good. How does it feel to be on the other end of a pelting?_ Gwen said loudly.

 _OKAY, OKAY! I get it,_ a rather commanding male voice said as Sam raised his arms into a defensive posture. Brendan and Gwen both perked up at that. This broke Gwen's focus on her attack and the barrage stopped.

"Was that-?" Brendan started to ask.

 _That was me,_ Sam raised his arm. _Didn't mean to startle you._

"Yeah, after Sammy and I first achieved Mega Evolution he figured out how to speak like Gwen, but it only seems to work when in his Mega Evolved form," Wally said.

 _Right_ … Sam stepped forward. _And, Gwen, I need to tell you something_ … _it's important._

 _Save it for after we finish this battle,_ Gwen said as she concentrated, using a Calm Mind attack. When her body began to glow green, Sam smiled as if looking at his crush doing something he thought was cute, something Gwen noticed easily. At the same time, he became surrounded in a ring of illusory swords, he moved his body around to dodge and strengthen his body, boosting his attacking power.

 _As you wish,_ he said as his arms began to glow with a black light. Gwen could see that he was preparing a Night Slash, something that could prove lethal in terms of a Pokémon battle if it hit its mark. And Gwen could tell from his expression that Sammy wasn't about to go easy with his attacks. Gwen decided to get creative at this point, having picked up on an exploitable weakness. Just as Samuel was in range and he started swinging his blade like arms, combining Night Slash with Close Combat as he started to nimbly attack and flip acrobatically. Gwen, not being too used to dodging attacks like this, barely managed to dodge Samuel's attacks in time, using Teleport. Just as she thought she had the distance to breathe, Samuel appeared right in front of her, having used a Teleport of his own. Gwen just barely moved her head out of the way of the downward slash Sam aimed at her.

 _Great, my usual strategy is out of the question,_ Gwen thought. She quickly began to formulate a plan, and she even considered the way he looked at her. _That's it!_ Gwen internally smirked at her cunning plan, deciding to use Sam's attack to her own advantage.

As soon as Sam took a swing close to her cheek, Gwen allowed the edge of his arm to lightly cut her left cheek, then she let his other hand strike her side, cushioning it with a small protect to convince Sam that he landed a hit. _That's check. Now for checkmate,_ Gwen internally smirked as she slid back and fell to her knees, clutching her cheek and her side.

 _Oh no,_ Wally thought to himself. _Don't tell me_ …

 _I get it,_ Brendan thought as Gwen relayed her plan to him. _Nice work Gwen_.

Gwen then looked up with tears in her eyes, having learned how to cry on command. That look alone made Samuel stop in his tracks. _Ow, Sammy, that really hurt!_ Gwen said, her voice and thoughts sounding extremely convincing. _Why did you have to be so mean?_

Samuel had a look of panicked concern, like he had no intention to actually harm Gwen beyond what was needed to win the battle. But now he looked like he was afraid to anything more in order to avoid hurting her. He completely ignored the green aura surrounding her again.

 _No, come on! Is this how Brendan is going to beat me?_ _No, I can't go out like that!_ Wally thought. "Samuel, don't listen to her!" he cried out. Gwen heard him, and she knew that Sam had the advantage in terms of speed and strength, and, with teleporting turning ineffective, she needed to keep her plan moving. So, Gwen did the one thing that she could think of to win this battle. She pulled Samuel close to her and kissed him.

What happened in the middle of that battlefield made not only Brendan and Wally, but the entire stadium, and nearly every viewer watching the tournament from home, all went wide-eyed. Certainly, there had been Pokémon and trainers who had been friendly before and after a match, but Pokémon romance was unheard of during the league finals. Samuel was now completely lost in his world of bliss, while Gwen was surprised that she was actually enjoying this. _Who knew Samuel could kiss this well._ Gwen mentally sighed. _Oh well, time to show him that all is fair in love and war._ At that moment, Gwen's lips began to glow pink, and Samuel felt his energy dropping.

"Sam, stop kissing her! She's using Draining Kiss!" Wally said with panic in his voice. Samuel's eyes went wide as he broke their lip contact and let go of Gwen, having unconsciously wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her closer.

 _Gwen, what the fuck?_ Sam asked, sounding almost hurt.

Gwen just deviously smiled and winked at Sam as she twirled back a few feet. _Sorry Sammy, you really shouldn't have let your guard down during a battle with such high stakes,_ Gwen said playfully before inhaling deeply and shouting as loudly as possible. Her Hyper Voice attack struck and launched Sam like a bullet into a nearby stalagmite.

Wally ran over to his Pokémon with concern. "Sam, are you okay?"

Sam just smiled like he had just conquered the world, mixed with an expression that said he couldn't be mad at Gwen. _Sorry Wally, but that kiss was totally worth it,_ Sam said as he fell forward and passed out, reverting to his normal form. At the same time, Gwen powered down and returned to her regular form.

Wally sighed and recalled Sam, only for a buzzer to sound throughout the cave. Just as it sounded, Wally, Brendan, and Gwen were teleported out of Victory Road, and were returned to the stadium.

"AND WHAT A MATCH!" the announcer called out happily. "Certainly, it was an unexpected tactic from Brendan and his Gardevoir, but this battle will surely be one for the history books. Now, please join me in congratulating Brendan, and also in wishing him and his team good luck in their endeavor against the Elite Four and the Champion of Hoenn. All of these battles will be happening in three days. I will see you all there!"

Wally then came up to Brendan. "You know, that was a really great battle," he said with a chuckle. "Guess I need to work with Sam on seeing through clever ploys like that one."

Gwen blushed slightly. _I honestly only came up with it on the fly._

Brendan smiled and laughed. "Well, Wally, will you be staying for my battles against the Elite Four? It would mean a lot to me, and I think Sam would like to see Gwen more often," he said in a half-teasing tone.

Wally smiled slightly. "Well, I think I can manage that," he said. "After all, my flight to Alola isn't for another month."

"Wait, Alola?" Brendan asked. "Why there?"

"Well, it's more for sightseeing, and it was meant to be a family vacation to celebrate my health," Wally said as he began to walk to the locker rooms to grab his bag and phone.

"Sounds like a fun trip," Brendan said with a playful nudge as they entered the tunnel, now able to hear much easier with the cheering muffled. "Who knows, you might meet a girl there."

Gwen just followed behind them, basking in the mirth of the conversation. At the same time, however, her thoughts were also on that kiss she had with Sammy. _I kind of feel bad about tricking him like that. Plus, that kiss was_ … Gwen paused in her thoughts, then shook her head and quietly slapped her cheeks to snap herself out of her trance. _Wait, what am I doing? Stop it! Stop it!_

Brendan just chuckled as he heard Gwen's thoughts, which she wasn't making very difficult. It seemed that, like when she teased him about May, he now had some ammo to use with her. But, in only three days, he knew that this levity would need to be replaced with some serious thought and strategizing. After all, the Elite Four would not be a bunch of pushovers. He needed to be mentally and physically ready.

 **Once again, I hope this chapter was enjoyable for everyone. I hope you like Wally's buffed team, even if the outcome was the same anyway. The next five chapters will be, in order, the Elite Four and Wallace.**

 **Until next time. – jmoul18**


	50. Be Afraid of the Dark

_Be Afraid of the Dark_

The three days between Brendan's victory in the tournament and the battles with the Elite Four seemed to pass all too quickly. All of Brendan's team had been healed, and they were all eager for a battle, or five if they were lucky. In the hopes of preparing for the matches, Brendan had tried to research the teams of the Elite Four based on videos of their battles. Unfortunately, he had been largely unsuccessful other than some speculation videos made by PokéTube personalities who really had no business conducting an analysis of Pokémon trainers. In other words, there was nothing of value to be found about his upcoming opponents. Despite his lack of preparation, it was now time for Brendan to face the music, as the saying goes. All they were waiting for now was the announcer to call them out of the tunnel.

The roar of the crowd was louder than anything Brendan had ever heard in a Pokémon-related event, and he could understand why. This was the one time of the year that the Elite Four and Champion would have official battles outside of their own ranks. Otherwise, the only time that they fought was for dominance within their own ranks, and those battles were rarely televised or ticketed.

 _You're nervous?_ Gwen asked.

 _You need to ask?_ Brendan said. _I'm about to face the five strongest trainers in the region, and I hardly get any rest between each battle._

 _I know, but we wouldn't be here if we weren't on par with the Elite Four,_ Gwen said.

 _Yeah, I suppose you're right,_ Brendan said.

* * *

Up in the stands, May was sitting with Lisia, Wally, and Sam next to her in Steven's box seats. Next to their box, the Elite Four and Champion's booth was empty, all of them in their own separate tunnels of the stadium. The screen above the battlefield was displaying only Brendan's face and a cookie-cutter silhouette over where the Elite Four member's picture would go for each battle.

"So, Wally and Sam, are you doing any better since your battle with Gwen?" Lisia asked, having seen the match live on television, getting a good laugh from Gwen's tactics.

Sam gave his best thumbs up and a goofy grin that told May and Lisia that he was still pretty drunk on his happiness. "Oh, we're just fine," Wally said, sounding a bit bitter. "But, who knows. It might have been for the better." Lisia gave a slight nod, respecting how Wally looked at life. They had met last night when she arrived to watch Brendan's battles with the Elite Four and possibly the champion, and they had become fast friends while spending time with Brendan and Gwen.

"Who knows, maybe you can try to battle the Elite Four for next year's league tournament," Lisia said encouragingly. Wally smiled, liking the idea, and Lisia's cheerful attitude.

"Well, I think that'd be a very good goal, but good luck," Norman said politely as he walked up from behind them. "I actually challenged them when I was interviewed for the Petalburg Gym Leader position."

May looked shocked. "You did? Why?" she asked.

"To be honest, they were, and still are, looking for a new member, since Drake is getting ready to retire," Norman said. "So, they battled me to determine whether I would be able to take a position, and allow him to retire sooner."

"How did you do against them?" Wally asked.

Norman looked at both of the teenagers and laughed like a man who had seen Hell, and miraculously survived. "I got beaten badly by Sidney. I have to be blunt, that level of power is absolutely not normal among trainers. It makes me worried about how Brendan will fare against them," he said.

"They're that strong?" May asked rhetorically. _Brendan, please be careful out there._

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, the time has now come for today's main event. This is something that only happens once a year, and, I won't lie, there's no telling how far our challenger will go. Will we see the rise of a new Champion for the Hoenn League? Or will we keep our current Champion? Let's find out together," the announcer said, getting a lot of cheers. "Now, please help me welcome the challenger. Since his family moved to Littleroot Town from Goldenrod City in Johto, this trainer has taken the Hoenn League by storm, along with his powerful Pokémon. He's the son of the new Petalburg Gym Leader, though many people now believe that he's surpassed his father. Please help me in welcoming Brendan Maple, and his Gardevoir, Gwen!"

May stood up and cheered with the crowd as Brendan and Gwen entered the stadium. Gwen gave a few waves like a princess waving to a crowd. When they got to their place in the stadium, a referee stepped forward. "The rules for this battle are very simple. The challenger will be facing the Elite Four in order and without stopping. Since these battles will all be full six-on-six battles, should the challenger defeat one member of the Elite Four, he will be given access to a healing machine. There will be no substitutions for either side at any point in the battle. If a Pokémon is recalled, it will be counted the same as that Pokémon being knocked. Once the challenger is ready after his previous battle, the next Elite Four member shall come out and battle. For the protection of the spectators, there are teams of Pokémon stationed all around the stadium putting up a Protect field around the walls of the battlefield." May's eyes went wide. This was the first time she'd ever heard of a Pokémon battle needing to have shielding around the field for the sake of spectators. If they were taking these kinds of safety measures, how strong were the Pokémon who would be battling?

"Alright folks, it seems the battles are about to get underway. It's now time for the first of the Elite Four to start us off. He's a man of mystery, and he absolutely hates a boring battle. Please welcome Sidney!" As the announcer said that, the man with the red hair styled in a metro, Kalosian swoop with shaved sideburns. Today, he wore a black collared shirt with gold lapels and cuffs. His pants were red and his belt was very dark brown with a golden buckle. His shoes were completely black.

* * *

Down on the battlefield, Brendan could see Sidney much more clearly. He was ready to battle, and his red eyes showed deep-seated confidence. This man was clearly not one to fool around. "So, you're Brendan Maple? I battled your old man about a year ago when he was interviewing for a position. He didn't do too well, but he was definitely Gym Leader material," Sidney said. Brendan was about to speak, but Sidney held up his hand to stop him. "No, no words are needed. I know you're not your father, and you're quite the skillful battler. I just want to let you know that, regardless of their skill, I absolutely do not tolerate opponents who don't battle with their all. The battles you're about to engage in will be of the highest effort for both the trainers and their Pokémon, and, unlike gym leaders who are testing their challengers at an appropriate skill level, an Elite Four member never holds back against any opponent." Sidney then pulled a Pokéball from his belt. "Now, let's have fun with this battle…one that can only happen here, in the Pokémon League Headquarters."

Brendan smiled. He already liked this guy. He was serious about his profession without being so uptight that he couldn't enjoy himself. Brendan picked his first Pokémon for this battle, Avery.

"Let's go, Peter!" Sidney said as he sent out his first Pokémon, a Scrafty. It was an orange, lizard-like Pokémon with a black underbelly, yellow shed skin that looked like baggy sweatpants and a baggy hoodie. It had a red crest that looked like a mohawk.

"Avery, you're up!" Brendan said as he sent out his Latias. He had listened to Wally's comment during their battle regarding the order of his Pokémon. And, if he were to have any hope of winning against the Elite Four, he needed to be unpredictable. Latias flew around the field for a little bit before coming to Brendan's side and nuzzling him to get attention. The crowd loved it a lot as they snapped pictures, and some even recorded their own videos. "Hey Avery, are you ready to battle?" The Latias cooed happily and nodded before nudging Gwen as well. Gwen smiled and gave her a hug as well.

 _You've got this, Avery,_ Gwen said reassuringly. Avery nodded to Gwen with confidence before turning and flying onto the battlefield.

"Begin the match!" the official said. The screens around the stadium all lit up with the health bars of Avery and Peter along with their pictures next to them. Behind the pictures of the Pokémon were those of their trainers.

Neither Brendan nor Sidney gave any commands, but both of their Pokémon attacked regardless. Scrafty moved unbelievably fast, his hands glowing with the purple fire of a Dragon Claw as he began to swing at Avery, and he clearly had a lot power behind his attack. Avery rolled sideways to dodge, not even making it seem like the fun and lighthearted dodge as she typically did during battles. This time, she was serious, and showed strong determination. She then fired a Dragon Pulse at Peter, at nearly point-blank range, only for it to be met with a green shield between the two Pokémon. Since he was in mid-air when the attack hit, Peter was launched back like a pinball being shot into play. Once he was close to the ground, Peter righted himself and took a stable stance to withstand the rest of the onslaught.

Avery stopped her attack by cutting off the stream, then flew at the fastest pace she could. As soon as the shield dropped, she struck with an Aerial Ace. It wasn't as strong as it would've been ideally, since neither of the Eon Pokemon were exactly physical-attackers. Peter responded by leaping at Avery, his hand covered in the bright flame of a Dragon Claw, but it seemed to have a higher intensity than before.

Avery saw the attack on its way, so she fired a Dragon Pulse just as the Scrafty leapt at her. This time, her attack was too fast for Peter to use protect. Peter was hit hard with the attack, and his health bar on the screen dropped to a third of his maximum health. Peter, however, just flew straight through the beam, slashing Avery across her face, dropping her health by a third as well. Brendan swore under his breath. He knew this would be a tough battle, but this was grueling already, and it was only the first round of the battle. Avery, however, was ready for the battle to keep going.

Avery gathered electricity in front of herself before firing it at Peter. The attack hit hard, and caused electricity to course through Peter's body. Even after the attack ended, the electricity continued to course through him, leaving the Scrafty paralyzed. "Great job Avery! Now, finish this!" Avery turned and nodded to Brendan confidently before gathering a ball of energy and launching it into the air. It then split into multiple parts: a perfect Draco Meteor. The smaller orbs of energy that showered the battlefield, a few were making multiple craters in the ground. That alone would make moving on the ground difficult. However, that wasn't all the attack did. Four separate orbs flew at Peter from all sides. The Pokémon had been slowed down by his status condition, so he couldn't dodge, but he was able to launch a stream of interwoven black rings at Avery. The attack was short, but it was fast and very strong, both of which were shown when it hit its mark. Avery cried out as the attack dropped her health to below a quarter of the maximum. Those two attacks together were enough to bring Peter's health to zero and knock him out. The buzzers sounded and the round was finished.

"Well, isn't that something," Sidney said as he recalled Peter. "You just beat the one Pokémon on my team Norman couldn't beat, and you did it with some real strategy and coordination." The elite four member spoke to both Brendan and his Pokémon. "You've got quite a strong bond with your Pokémon. That's good, you'll need it with this next opponent. GO, CYRUS" He threw out a Pokéball, sending out a Pokémon that looked like a walking nutcracker with three green leaves on each hand. The Pokémon's feet looked like Johtonese stilted sandals, but rather than having two stilts per foot, each had only one stilt. Brendan pulled out his PokéDex, which quickly identified it as a Shiftry.

Avery knew she would be in trouble if she didn't act fast, so she began to gather icy energy for an Ice Beam. Cyrus saw her and immediately leapt at her, using a quick Fake Out to make her flinch and lose her Ice Beam's energy. With that, Cyrus's right hand began to glow black before he slapped Avery with all his might, knocking Avery into the ground with a vicious Knock Off attack. The buzzer sounded as Avery's health hit zero.

"Avery!" Brendan called as he ran to the Eon Pokémon. Luckily, she was only about three feet from his trainer's box. "Are you alright?" Avery looked at him sadly, feeling like she failed him. "You did great out there," Brendan said to soothe her. "And I know you gave it everything you had." He held her forehead close to his own. "I promise you, we will win this battle." Avery cooed happily and nuzzled her trainer at his reassurance. He then recalled her and went back to the trainer's box. He then pulled out Jack's Pokéball. "Go, Jack!"  
The Camerupt appeared with a long grunt. "You know what to do!" Brendan said. "Let's use your Scorched Earth combo!" Jack immediately used an Eruption, launching multiple boulders covered in lava. Cyrus, however, was a very fast Pokémon. He made it look almost easy to weave between the falling rocks, dodging all of them without even a look of worry. Jack, however, had been counting on that, as he fired a massive Fire Blast directly where Eruption had forced him to dodge. Cyrus, with wide eyes, couldn't dodge in time. The flames hit perfectly, but despite the power behind that attack, Cyrus's health stopped right before it hit zero. Before Jack could do anything, Cyrus ran and grabbed Jack, his body glowing.

"Well, Brendan," Sidney said. "Your Pokémon is strong, but I think it's time you saw the true meaning of 'Scorched Earth.' EXPLOSION!" The Shiftry looked confident as his body gathered just a little more energy before unleashing it. His own health bar dropped to zero, but that only started the ensuing explosion. A blinding white light flooded the stadium before the explosion formed a massive mushroom cloud. Thankfully for the spectators, the Protect around the field held and kept the crowd safe. Brendan and Sidney both stood strong until the light faded. On the field, both Pokémon looked charred, but Jack was miraculously standing.

"By Arceus! It seems that Jack has, through sheer might of will, withstood the power of an Explosion at point blank range," the announcer said in shock. "This is a phenomenal display of determination."

Sidney recalled Cyrus, his smirk showing that Jack's determination would change nothing. "Go, Bruce!" he said as he sent out his next Pokémon. As it materialized, the battlefield floor opened to reveal a pool underneath as a Sharpedo came out and splashed into the water. Once again, without a word spoken, the shark Pokémon launched himself from the pool, surrounded in a pillar of water. The Aqua Jet hit fast, and with Jack being exhausted, there was nothing he could do in response except for launching small, pointed stones around the battlefield, making a Stealth Rock entry hazard.

Brendan recalled Jack, thanking him for being so strong. He looked up at the board and saw that Bruce had barely lost any health from the flamethrower, but it was a start. _I need a fast Pokémon to win this,_ Brendan thought as his hand then moving to the second Pokéball on his belt. "Clint, I need you out here!" he called as he threw the Pokéball onto the field. The Sceptile appeared on the field, standing and calmly placing a twig in his mouth, looking calm and collected.

For what felt like an eternity, neither Pokémon did anything. The tension built quickly in the stadium as the standoff continued. Finally, Clint broke the stalemate with Sunny Day, sending a ball of white light and energy into the air, intensifying the heat on the field. It was a very smart move, and Sidney knew it. It would weaken Bruce's water attacks, and make things like leech seed more effective…but it was nothing they hadn't beaten before. As soon as Sunny Day was in the air, Bruce took an opportunity to jump out of the water, his teeth covered in icy energy. Clint just rolled to the side, using his tail in a Slam attack to knock Bruce back into the water.

The Sharpedo dove deep into the water as his health bar dropped by less than a quarter. Brendan grimaced, but Clint and Gwen both gave him looks that told him to calm down and let the battle develop. Brendan nodded in understanding, and seemingly on cue, Bruce leapt from the water in another Aqua Jet, but his fangs were coated in a purplish-brown sludge as he flew at Clint. Brendan could tell that he was going for a combo of Aqua Jet and Poison Fang, and Clint knew exactly how to respond. Just before Bruce was about to get a hit, Clint dodged to the left and quickly fired a Solar Beam, the gold beam of energy moving at frightening speeds. Bruce saw the beam, managing to change the course of his Aqua Jet and fly toward Clint with speed characteristic of the shark Pokémon's species. He easily returned to his Aqua Jet's normal rhythm of flying around the field, and, without much warning, Bruce turned back and bit down on Clint's chest, using his Poison Fang perfectly. Clint's health dropped to its half-point, which seemed to piss Clint off. The Sceptile pried open Bruce's jaws before throwing the shark into the air. He then fired a powerful Solar Beam, hitting Bruce perfectly. To ensure that the beam kept hitting its target, Clint adjusted his aim until Bruce was forced back into the pool. When the dark-type hit the water, the buzzer sounded to indicate that the Sharpedo's health had hit zero.

"Well, kid, you're a lot stronger than I expected," Sidney said with tone somewhere between cheerful and competitive as he recalled. "I can tell that you've trained exceptionally hard to get here. Let's see how far that can carry you in these battles." He then pulled out and threw a Dusk Ball. "Particularly, against Loki!"

The Pokémon that appeared was covered in white fur except for his face, part of his forehead, his claws, his sword-like tail, and a scythe-like horn on one side of his face. His fur was incredibly sleek, until it got to his chest, where it tufted. On his head, the fur looked almost like a "yang" symbol.

"An Absol?" Brendan said under his breath. "Interesting."

As quickly as the Pokémon took form, he winced, losing about ten percent of his health from the Stealth Rocks. Despite that, Loki leapt forward like it was no problem whatsoever. His horn glowed black with energy as he prepared a Night Slash. He closed the distance with Clint quickly, and swung hard. Clint rolled to the side, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid taking damage, as Loki's horn slashed his side. Clint grunted with the impact, his health plummeting quickly, before he spun in the air, using his tail for a Slam attack. When his tail landed, however, Loki's body shimmered and changed.

"Wait, what?" Brendan asked as a different Pokémon appeared where the Absol used to be. This one was a wolf-like Pokémon with black fur on most of his slim body. The exception was the mane of dark red hair on his back. His claws were all the same shade of red as the fur on his back.

"For those fans who aren't sure what just happened, you've just witnessed the unique ability of the Zoroark evolutionary line. Loki used Illusion to conceal himself as another of Sidney's Pokémon," the announcer said excitedly.

For Brendan, that information made little difference, as Clint's health bar hit zero, the buzzer sounding again. "Clint, you fought well, now return and get some rest," he said while pulling out and throwing his next Pokéball. "Turk, come on out!"

His Crawdaunt punched his claws into the ground in an attempt to intimidate Loki. The fox, however, was completely unaffected, even going so far as to pick his ear to show disinterest. Turk glared as he powered up a Brick Break and raced forward. He was about to strike when Loki simply moved sideways casually. The Brick Break attack hit the ground, making a crack in the ground, but Loki then decided to huff confidently, annoying Turk immensely, and making his attack rise, all while he became disoriented. It was a perfectly executed Swagger attack.

Turk flew into the air with an Aqua Jet, flying around the field until he got an angle he thought would be a blind-spot for Loki. The fox turned and glared, huffing again, before side-stepping casually. Turk crashed into the ground with more force, his attacking strength increasing again. That power boost came with a trade-off, as Turk's health bar dropped to nearly zero with that one crash into the ground. Brendan cursed under his breath. This Zoroark was powerful, and it was incredibly smart. The strategy he was employing was brilliant to nearly the point of perfection. The flaw was revealed when Turk shook himself out of his stupor, but his attacking power remained high. Loki stood behind Turk, seeming to gloat with his apparent victory as his arms began to glow black as tendrils of energy arced from Turk's body. It wasn't draining Turk's energy, but it was increasing the strength of Loki's Punishment attack. Turk, however, gathered a bluish energy around his claw, powering up a Crab Hammer. At the exact same time, both Pokémon swung at each other. The attacks both hit simultaneously doing severe damage, making their health bars drop rapidly. The buzzer sounded twice within the span of a few seconds, indicating that both Pokémon had been knocked out at the same time.

Sidney recalled Loki, smirking confidently. "Well, we have two Pokémon left. Let's see how you like this next one. Go, Anne!"

An avian Pokémon with dark brown feathers and an almost vulture-like appearance came out. The feathers on her body were all brown, but in varying shades, with a tan-colored tuft around her neck. In the dark tuft on her head was a single bone, and she had a jaw-like belt made of bone, with extremely sharp spikes on her belly. Her skin was nearly pink in color, which starkly contrasted with her plumage. Immediately after she appeared, a cluster of the Stealth Rock flew at her, dropping her health bar by a quarter.

 _It's a Mandibuzz. She's a Dark and Flying type,_ Gwen said.

Brendan nodded, pulling out his last Pokéball. "Come on out Nikki!" he called. The sloth ape beat her chest in a show of dominance and strength. In that moment, Nikki slammed her fists into the ground, sending a concentrated shockwave in Anne's direction. The Mandibuzz rolled to the side in a casual, aerial barrel-roll as a cluster of incredibly sharp rocks. As Anne dodged the attack, she let a cluster of feathers fly into the air, she was then surrounded by a green aura, and her health bar returned to its maximum.

Nikki snorted aggressively and punched the ground in frustration. Anne smirked and flew high into the sky before diving quickly. Just as she was about to crash, she pulled up sharply, flying parallel with the ground, becoming covered in a fiery blue energy as she broke the sound barrier. Nikki squared up as the Mandibuzz came closer. She put her hands out and caught Anne by the wings, stopping her in her flight path. Despite stopping the attack from doing major damage, Nikki still lost at least another quarter of her health from the impact. With her right hand, Nikki grabbed Anne by the neck. With her left hand, she powered up a Brick Break and punched straight forward, letting go of Anne at the last moment before punching the vulture. Anne's eyes bugged out as she flew across the field and tumbled along the ground. Her health bar dropped below one quarter left, but it wasn't quite enough to put her out of the fight. Anne fluttered back into the air, another cluster of feathers flying out before she's surrounded by another green aura. Her injuries healed mostly, making her health bar go up to about a quarter of the maximum. Nikki just snorted angrily again as she punched the ground, sending another concentrated shockwave toward Anne. The ground beneath the Mandibuzz shot up as spikes, moving fast enough that Anne couldn't dodge in time. The stone spikes hit with such immense force that, when the buzzer sounded, Brendan was a bit worried that Nikki had overdone it. Anne looked very battered, and it looked like her right wing was broken in multiple places.

Sidney sighed, and recalled Anne. "You're the first trainer in a long time to reach this Pokémon," he said. "He's my strongest and first Pokémon," Sidney says as he pulls out his next Pokéball. "Let me introduce you to Apophis!" He threw the Pokéball, releasing an Absol, this one Brendan knew was the real one. "Just so you know, Apophis to me is the same as Gwen is to you," Sidney said as he pulled a pendant necklace with a sparkling keystone. "I'll demonstrate that bond now."

With that, Sidney touched the keystone and initiated the Mega evolution with a blinding light. When it faded, the Absol had grown wings like an angel from his shoulders. The horn on his right had grown longer, while he had also grown a new horn on his left. The fur on his forehead had also lengthened to cover his right eye. His tail had also gotten longer, gaining what looked like a serrated edge on the underside. Finally, there were tufts of fur now growing on each of his ankles under sharp dewclaws. While looks conveyed beauty, the aura that this Absol seemed to be radiating made a chill run down the spines of both Brendan and Gwen. It was rightly deserved, as Apophis leapt forward and, with his twin horns glowing black, delivered a brutal Night Slash across Nikki's chest before kicking her in the chest, and jumping back to his side of the field. It all happened so fast that Nikki just stood there, not realizing what had happened for a few seconds before she suddenly staggered back ten feet and fell to the ground at the exact time that the buzzer sounded.

Brendan was speechless. He had seen Nikki take hits that would have crippled a semitruck, but this Absol had just taken her out when she still had about half her health. Brendan recalled Nikki wordlessly, before turning to Gwen. She nodded to him, then stepped out onto the battlefield, trying to radiate poise and grace. Unfortunately, after what she had just witnessed, she was extremely nervous. She knew deep down that she was strong, but was she on the same level as Apophis…or any of the other Pokémon they had yet to face?

As she was about to get to the starting position for Brendan's Pokémon, she felt an immense sense of ease washing over her out of nowhere, as well as a presence she hadn't felt in years. _No, don't let yourself get sentimental now,_ she thought as she refocused on the battle.

 _Ready, Gwen?_ Brendan asked.

 _Time to go Super Saiyan!_ she said in a joking, confident tone as Brendan touched his Keystone. Another blinding light filled the arena as Gwen turned into her Mega form, her long white dress flowing in the slight wind she created to add dramatic effect.

Apophis seemed unimpressed by her appearance, something that Gwen did not take well. She immediately started off the final round of this battle with one of the techniques she had almost perfected over the journey through Hoenn: Teleport, Double Team, and Calm Mind together to power up. Apophis rolled his eyes, apparently having seen this strategy before. His eyes glowed red and he huffed loudly, and just as Gwen's clones began to disappear and glow green, she was stopped in her tracks and couldn't use any of those three moves. Apophis smiled, knowing that his Taunt had been perfectly timed.

Cursing silently, Gwen knew her dodge and power up strategy was off the table, which meant she would need to move faster than ever before without her ability to teleport around the field like she wanted. Plus, this battle would not be able to be won with a kiss the way she beat Sammy in Victory Road. Now she needed real strategy based on power of her attacks. As her mind was reeling, she only barely noticed that Apophis was surrounded by illusory swords as he used a Swords Dance to power up. When she realized what had happened, however, Apophis was already starting to gather black energy on his horn. Just as it finished charging up, Apophis leapt forward at Gwen, moving at incredible speeds that neither Brendan nor Gwen thought possible.

She barely had time to move to the side, narrowly avoiding the full impact of the attack. Despite avoiding the devastating hit, Gwen was still thrown back across the field as the shockwave of wind slammed into her. _Augh, damn it!_ she cried out as she tumbled along ground a short distance. Just as she was about to hit the edge of the battlefield, Gwen stopped herself. _Alright, I can't take a hit like that head-on, and the sheer force of the wind will probably take me out of this fight if I get hit three more times,_ Gwen thought. Apophis smirked at her, as if he was reading her mind, and shrouded his claws in what looked like shadow energy. Gwen knew from the look of it that he was preparing a Shadow Claw. With a deep crouch, the Absol leapt at her, moving quickly. She knew that dodging would only put her in the same position she was in now, so Gwen did the one thing she could do. She screamed, using the strongest Hyper Voice she could muster. The sheer volume of her shout was deafening, to the point that even May, Lisia, and Wally had to cover their ears for protection. Brendan just stood confidently, but he knew he'd have tinnitus for a while now.

Apophis couldn't resist the force of Gwen's attack, and, since he was already in the air from his jump, it was strong enough to throw him clear across the battlefield, where he landed hard. The impact dropped his health by slightly over half, and Apophis clearly knew he needed to avoid direct lines like he had just tried. Otherwise, this would be a very short battle. But, he and Sidney had been in tougher corners than this before and come out on top. In order to buy himself more time, the Absol began to make an irritating chattering noise, grating on Gwen's senses. In response, she tried to use another Hyper Voice, but she felt some force blocking it.

 _Shit, that was just Torment. Now I need to be more creative and use multiple attacks,_ Gwen thought as she got a silent command from Brendan. She held her hands up to the sky silently gathering energy high above the stadium, hoping that her opponents wouldn't notice it. _Okay, just gotta make like Goku did against Freeza!_

Apophis gave her an odd look that seemed to ask "What are you doing?" Gwen just ignored his look and just kept charging her attack. Apophis took this time to leap at her. Gwen jumped to the side, and forward past him, rolling quickly to avoid his Night Slash. The resulting shockwave went forward, breaking the ground up, but Gwen didn't pay it any heed. She just put her hands back into the air. Apophis gave her another look as if asking "Seriously, what is that all about?"

 _Oh, don't mind me, just doing some stretches,_ Gwen said coyly. In response, Apophis launched a massive Dark Pulse, timed perfectly with his Taunt losing its effect. Gwen silently thanked Arceus as she teleported out of the way of the attack, which exploded against the protective barrier around the field. When Gwen reappeared, her hands were still in the air.

Apophis looked at her suspiciously, wondering why she was throwing her hands in the air like she just didn't care. It made him angry, and his expression changed in such a way that Gwen could hear him thinking "CARE DAMN IT!" as he powered up another Night Slash and leapt forward, swinging at her with all the power he could muster. Gwen only managed to throw up a Reflect before Apophis's horn hit her across her stomach, sending her flying across the ground again. When she came to a stop, her health bar was at less than an eighth of its maximum. She was laying on her back when Apophis casually walked over and stood over her with a smug look of superiority. Gwen started laughing as she felt her Moonblast finish charging, and she lifted her hand toward it, pulling the attack down and toward Apophis, putting a protect around her body as she did.

Apophis barely noticed the attack coming in as a gleam in Gwen's eyes, and he turned his head to see what was creating the light. When he did, the Moonblast hit him squarely in the face, and it exploded on impact. The ensuing explosion filled the entirety of the shielded battlefield, and the light was utterly blinding for everyone in the stadium. During the chaos, the buzzer sounded, but everyone was silent until the dust settled, revealing that Apophis was knocked out, and had reverted to his normal form.

Sidney sighed in slight disappointment, but it was mixed with appreciation as he recalled Apophis. "Would you look at that, I lost," he said with a chuckle. "Eh, it was fun, so I guess it doesn't make much of a difference." He walked across the field to Brendan, who was just helping Gwen to her feet. "Well, Brendan, listen to what this loser has to say: you've got what it takes to got far, so don't you dare let your guard down, or think the others will go any easier on you. They'll pummel you if you let up even a little."

Brendan nodded. "I would expect nothing less of the Elite Four," he said with an extended hand. "That was a great battle."

Sidney gave Brendan a firm handshake. "Hopefully we can have another one like that in the near future. Maybe when I challenge you for your seat in the league's ranks," he says. "Now that you've beaten me, you've qualified to be in the Elite Four, but I've got a feeling that you aren't content with just that."

Brendan and Gwen both smiled. _"We will become the strongest team in the Hoenn region,"_ they both said simultaneously. Sidney just chuckled as he walked back into the Elite Four's locker room. This challenger had to be the most interesting in a long time.

 **Hey all, I took a lot longer to get this chapter done than I would've liked. Oh well, I was going for battle quality over quickness of completion. But damn, I was secretly hoping to get two elite four battles per chapter, and it turns out that these battles need as much detail as physically possible, or they turn out to be crap.**

 **Some of you may have recognized the half-dialogue I paired with Apophis's expressions, but regardless of whether you did, I want to admit that I was referencing TFS's DBZ Abridged, and I'm sort of citing them here.**

 **I'd also like to use this author's note to announce that I am in the process of working on a collaboration/crossover chapter with BraviaryScout (he's in the reviews of this story for those of you who haven't seen his writing), and his story** _ **A Hui Hou Kakou**_ **.** **It's a great story centered on Sun/Moon, and is absolutely worth the read.**


	51. Phasmophoebea

_Phasmophoebea_

Twenty minutes after his battle with Sidney, Brendan took his Pokéballs from the healing machine and let Gwen out immediately. He looked over to the official, nodding to indicate that he was now ready. The referee nodded back and pressed a button on his belt, which must have given an indication to the announcer, as well as turning on a green light in the tunnel on the Elite Four's side of the stadium.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the next of the Elite Four to make her appearance. She originally comes from Malie City in the tropical region of Alola, but she traveled to Hoenn, and has since become the mistress of spectral mystery. Give a round of applause for the second-seated member of the Elite Four: Phoebe!"

When the announcer said her name, Phoebe came out of the tunnel her blue floral skirt flowing nicely around her well-toned legs. Her abs were also perfectly toned, and she walked with an air of confidence that seemed to rightfully surpass Sidney's. That on its own worried Brendan, since Sidney had almost beaten him, but he kept his confident appearance. This woman, however, also had a grace of motion that rivaled both May and Gwen.

"Well, you are certainly an interesting challenger," she said playfully. "As the announcer just said, I am Phoebe. After coming to Hoenn, I decided to do my training up on Mt. Pyre. It was such a peaceful, yet motivating place that I knew it was where I would surpass the limitations of a normal trainer." She giggled as she pulled out her first Pokéball from her…tube top of all places. "Have you ever faced a ghost-type Pokémon at the world-class level?"

"No, I can't say that I have," Brendan said politely.

Phoebe giggled. "Well, regardless, I'm sure this will be an amazing battle…if you can even land an attack on my Pokémon," she said before throwing out the Pokéball. "Go Lillith!"

The Pokémon that came out looked like a demented marionette, her body all black with a tail that looked like it came from a jester's hat. Her arms were thin like a cloth that had three claw-like extensions where the hands should have been. Her main body was short and stubby, with two short legs without knees. She had a jagged gold tail that looked more like it belonged on a sonophone than on a Pokémon. Her teeth were completely gold with one that hung out and looked like a zipper. Her eyes were both glowing bright red, and her eyelids had a triangular gap, making her look permanently sinister.

"A Banette?" Brendan asked, remembering it from only one of the speculative videos he had watched during his research. "I guess some of those PokéTubers knew what they were talking about." Brendan pulled out Clint's Pokéball. "I think we can handle it, though." He threw out the Pokéball, letting out the Sceptile. Clint smirked as he got to his feet, ready for battle. He, unfortunately, wasn't ready for what Lillith had planned. In an instant, a dark circular portal opened in the ground, and Lillith immediately vanished into it before it shut. Brendan had didn't know what this attack was, but he didn't like the look of it. This didn't deter Clint, though. He shot up a ball of light energy, causing a Sunny Day. As soon as he did, though, a black hole opened behind him, and Lillith came out, slamming into his back and sending him tumbling across the field. Clint's health dropped by a quarter from the Phantom Force attack. Brendan was impressed at how Lillith had effortlessly pulled off that attack, but he and Clint were not going to let that prevent them from winning this round.

Clint, with the help of his Sunny Day, gathered an orb of solar energy and fired a powerful Solar Beam at Lillith. The Banette, without so much as a glance back, put up a Protect and blocked all the incoming damage. She then whipped around and threw a ball of brownish-purple sludge at Clint, hitting him perfectly in the mouth. Clint gagged and coughed up most of it, but it was too late. Enough of the Toxic attack had made its way into his system to make him feel the effects, and take on a sickly expression. His health dropped slowly as the poison began to take effect. He knew he needed to end this fast, or Brendan would be at a disadvantage moving forward. He quickly sent a tendril of green energy out, which wrapped around Lillith's body, starting to drain her of energy and replenish Clint's own. Lillith grinned evilly, never opening her mouth as she seemed to revel in the pain, even as her health dropped by a third. Clint's health bar then rose by about an eighth

In her hands, Lillith began to gather black, murky energy, throwing the Shadow Ball at Sceptile and doing a lot of damage, and dropping his health by half. Clint slid back and fell to his knees as the poison caused more damage, cutting his health by another eighth of the maximum. Clint knew he needed to end this fast, or he'd lose this round, and his pride would not allow him to be the first knocked out in this battle. His tail began to glow green for an instant before he whipped around and launched a swirling tornado of green energy particles in the shape of leaves at Lillith. It was his most powerful attack, but it was also a dangerous gamble, because it took a lot of energy to pull off, thus weakening attacks until he got some rest. His attack luckily hit its mark, swamping and cutting Lillith's body repeatedly.

The buzzer sounded while the leaf-like scythes dissipated, showing that Lillith had fainted. Unfortunately, the Toxic poisoning increased its damage, and, as he coughed one last time, Clint collapsed, his health bar only inches away from hitting 0. Brendan sighed, watching Phoebe recall Lillith. "Referee, I'm recalling my Pokémon now. There's no way that he can keep going in this state," Brendan said, getting Clint's Pokéball out. The referee nodded and hit a button on a small remote in his hand. The buzzer sounded again, and a red 'X' appeared over Clint's picture, indicating a forfeit. Clint looked at Brendan, silently thanking his trainer for letting him hold onto his pride while keeping him safe, before going back into his Pokéball.

"That was a very wise decision," Phoebe said. "And it tells me that you are a compassionate person, and you care more about the well-being of your Pokémon than about winning a battle." The island girl smiled as she spoke. "I think you've certainly earned a seat among the Elite Four. As for where in the Elite Four you fit, we will find that out soon. Go, Malice!" Phoebe then threw her next Pokéball, releasing a Mismagius much like the one Wes had used in Victory Road, except, instead of being violet, her body was entirely golden, and she definitely had more experience.

"Interesting," Brendan said as he pulled out his next Pokéball. "Go, Turk!" The Crawdaunt appeared and punched into the ground aggressively, getting the attention of Malice. The Mismagius seemed to smirk with confidence at the Crawdaunt's display. She had seen this type so wearily often, she knew that they could almost never back up their bravado. She quickly gathered electricity in front of her, firing a Thunderbolt at Turk. Turk barely got out of the way, the electricity striking the ground behind him. The Crawdaunt then leapt forward, his claws getting a dark glow as he powered up a Night Slash. When he got within striking distance, Turk swung hard, making glancing contact. That slight contact, however, was enough to make Malice stagger in the air, and drop her health by an eighth. Turk was immediately blindsided by a cluster of multi-colored scythe-shaped leaves, this resulted in a loss of at least a quarter of his health. Turk slid to a stop on the ground close to Malice, then quickly whipped his body around, his claws now covered in the light blue energy of a Crab Hammer, and clubbed Malice's body, sending her spinning backwards.

Once she had steadied herself, Malice shouted incredibly loudly, using a Hyper Voice on par with the strength of Gwen's. Turk had no time to dodge it, taking the attack full-force. His health dropped by nearly half of the maximum. The Crawdaunt was not pleased with how events had been turning out. So, to help turn the advantage in his favor, he quickly gathered the red and black aura of a Dragon Dance, increasing his strength and speed in the process. He then concentrated more black, dark-type energy in his claws, but then took it a step further, concentrating it on the inside of the pincers. He then leapt quickly, moving too fast for Malice to dodge as his claws clamped down on her body, causing her to cry out as her health dropped to nearly zero.

Phoebe sighed. "Malice, I know you've fought hard. Thank you for that. Now, leave them with a little going-away gift," she says. Malice grinned as a black aura surrounded her body as an ethereal needle appeared in front of her body. But, it was aimed at herself, not at Turk. That needle then stabbed her directly in the center gemstone on her body. When she did that, the buzzer immediately sounded as she collapsed, but, as she fell, a strange mark appeared on his body, looking almost like the Fog Badge of Ecruteak City in Johto. Before Brendan could even guess what it was, the mark began to glow, and Turk cried in pain as his health dropped by another eighth. Brendan knew what it was at that point. It was a Curse from Mismagius, and it did severe damage when it activated.

Brendan muttered a curse of his own under his breath. Phoebe was strong and her skills were reflected in how her Pokémon battled. She calmly recalled Malice, and pulled out her next Pokéball. "Come on out Monty!" The Pokémon that came out looked like a purple hot air balloon with four extensions that looked almost like arms with a yellow color on the forearm. There was a yellow "X" where his mouth might have been, and two purely red eyes over the top of the X. On the top of his body was a puffy white cloud that looked like a hairdo. It was a Drifblim, a Pokémon Brendan had seen only a few times before, and that was only in books from in school or the occasional appearance in Pokémon League tournaments in Johto. It was a slow and cumbersome Pokémon, but it still could hit hard.

Monty decided to show just how hard he could hit as his arms wrapped around Turk and, without using an actual attack, lifted him and threw him into the ground, making a crater as the buzzer sounded. The mark of the Curse from Mismagius faded as Turk passed out. Brendan quickly recalled Turk, thanking him. "So, if I'm against power, I'll fight with power of my own," he said as he took out Nikki's Pokéball, and sent out the Slaking.

Nikki glared at Monty, while Phoebe just smirked, knowing that, even though the Normal type would be immune to all ghost-type attacks, the Slaking would be unable to hit with normal or fighting attacks. This would be an interesting round.

Nikki, not being one for patience, slammed her fists into the ground and sprints forward on all fours. Her hands began to glow almost black with shadow energy as she powered up a Shadow Claw. Just as she got close, however, Monty seemed to glow as energy gathered into his body. His defensive abilities seemed to increase, as Nikki used a powerful Shadow Claw. Unfortunately, Nikki's attack only dropped Monty's health by less than an eighth. Monty, however, just kept gathering energy, his defenses increasing steadily as he continued to use Stockpile for about fifteen seconds. He then turned to face Nikki, opening his mouth and firing a massive white beam of energy at Nikki, hitting her in her center-mass. Nikki was pushed back, sliding almost ten feet before she found enough traction to stop being pushed back, but Brendan was more concerned with how her health bar was dropping quickly, losing over three-quarters of her health in that one shot.

"How'd you like the Stockpile-Spit Up combo?" Phoebe asked tauntingly.

"It was interesting, but I think you'll be more surprised by what's next," Brendan said. Nikki punched the ground as he said that, sending out a shockwave for a Stone Edge, which launches the rocks up, hitting Monty in the chest. The balloon Pokémon shuddered, but he only lost about half of his health. It was shocking that such a powerful attack would do so little damage, relatively speaking. There were very few Pokémon who could withstand such a powerful super-effective attack, and they were usually forces to be feared. Monty seemed to be no exception, as he flew at Nikki with his body being surrounded by a white aura before he seemed to vanish. He reappeared an instant later behind Nikki, and hit her into the air. He then began to almost teleport around Nikki, getting powerful hits in as he moved, until finally hitting her over the head and sending Nikki plummeting into the ground. The Slaking crashed hard, leaving a small crater. She struggled back to her feet, the damage from the Acrobatics attack taking almost all of the health she had left. She then took a deep breath, and leapt into the air with her claws glowing with another Shadow Claw. With that jump, she came face-to-face with Monty, slashing him across the face. His remaining health dropped fast, but, just as the buzzer sounded, a black ethereal arm came out of Monty's body and punched Nikki into the ground with incredible force. The Slaking and the Drifblim both fainted at the same time, with the buzzer sounding twice in a row, showing that the two Pokémon had been knocked out. Both Brendan and Phoebe recalled their Pokémon, but Phoebe had a smirk on her face.

"Well, it seems Aftermath did its job there," Phoebe said with a laugh. "It takes out a large portion of health from the opponent if they used an attack that made physical contact to win a round. It's sort of like Monty made sure to bring his opponent with him."

"Maybe," Brendan said as he took Jack's ball off his belt. "But I'd rather continue with this battle than discuss abilities."

"Very well," Phoebe said with a smirk. "Then, come on out Lumiere!" She threw out her next Pokéball, or a Dusk Ball in this case, and it sent out a Pokémon who looked like a living chandelier, with blue flames on the ends of each of his multiple arms, as well as in the central chamber of his body. The entire rest of his body looked like black wrought iron, but Brendan knew it was ethereal. This was, after all, the namesake of his and May's favorite band: Chandelure.

"Then I'll fight fire with fire. Go, Jack!" Brendan said as he sent out the volcanic yak. Jack seemed ready for battle, as he snorted in a show of dominance. Lumiere seemed uninterested, even though he knew he was at a disadvantage in terms of types. With a loud bellowing, Jack fired a cluster of rocks into the air over Lumiere, where they started to rain down as a Rock Slide.

Lumiere calmly looked up as a green shield surrounded him and the rocks bounced off harmlessly. Jack didn't like his attack failing, so he shot another cluster, this one surrounded with lava, making what would've been a great Eruption.

"Wait, Jack, NO!" Brendan tried to shout, but it was too late. Lumiere just closed his eyes and let the stones hit him. The rocks did a little damage, but the lava was what did the real damage…to Brendan's chances. Lumiere's flames seemed to get stronger and flare up more as they absorbed the lava. It seemed that Lumiere had the ability Flash Fire, which meant that all of Jack's fire-type attacks would not only be useless, but they would serve to strengthen Lumiere's own fire-type attacks. This fight was now squarely in Phoebe's favor. Jack seemed to know that he messed up with that attack, as he looked back at Brendan apologetically. "It's okay, Jack, let's make sure that it doesn't make a difference for her!" Brendan's tone was comforting, yet it showed that there was still a sense of urgency for winning this battle. Jack nodded, only to get a Shadow Ball to his face. His health dropped to the halfway point, but it seemed that the attack did something else to Jack. His anger seemed to be boiling over, and a brief crimson aura radiating out showed Brendan that, perhaps this battle was back in his favor. It seemed that Jack's own ability had been activated: Anger Point.

"Well…shit," Phoebe said as she watched Jack launch two clusters of stones for a Rock Slide, but he staggered the launches so Protect could only block one. And, with his attacking power now at its maximum, this would not be a pretty end for Lumiere in this round. Jack stomped his foot on the ground to show more dominance as the first set of stones were blocked by Protect, but the second was able to land just as the shield fell. Lumiere groaned as he was buried by the rocks. The buzzer sounded almost immediately after that attack.

"Damn," Phoebe said under her breath as she recalled Lumiere. "That was almost too easy for you…and I was the one who caused my loss. You're the first outsider to reach this point in a while. Let's see how you handle Umbra!" she said as she sent out a Pokémon that made Brendan smirk as he glanced up toward Wally and May in the Devon Corporation's box seats. This Dusknoir, however, had a darker presence around her, radiating more power than Wraith did.

Jack gave another snort, hoping to show dominance. Without even a flinch, Umbra threw a ball of sludge at the Camerupt, hitting him in the face again, getting a blob in his mouth the same way Clint did when fighting the Banette. It was a Toxic attack, that much was obvious to Brendan. What wasn't so obvious was why Umbra was gathering a dark ball of fog in her hands.

 _Brendan, that's a Hex attack. Its power doubles if the target is poisoned, asleep, burned, paralyzed, or frozen,_ Gwen says.

Jack coughed from the poison in his mouth, but he had enough of his wits about him to be able to launch a stream of fire at Umbra, using the most powerful Flamethrower he could muster. The Dusknoir threw her Hex anyway, the attack swirling around the Flamethrower, and striking Jack at the same time as his Flamethrower hit Umbra, but it didn't do nearly as much damage as Hex did to Jack. The Camerupt was down to his last bit of health, but he refused to give in. With a defiant bellow, he used the last of his strength to let out a Fire Blast. The attack hit as the buzzer sounded for Jack, while Umbra had barely lost a third of her health from that attack. Brendan grimaced at the outcome. Wraith had been strong, but it seemed Umbra was in a class all her own among ghost types.

Brendan recalled Jack, thanking the Pokémon for his hard work. "Alright," he said to himself. "Avery and Gwen are all I have left in this battle." He took hold of Avery's ball. "Perfect. I can still win this." He sent out his Latias, who shook her head with excitement as she came onto the battlefield. She smiled back at Brendan, wanting to get a hug again, but she decided that could wait until she beat this Dusknoir.

"You've got a beautiful Latias," Phoebe says, deciding to have a short conversation with Brendan. While the battle was exhilarating, she did enjoy conversations with the challengers on occasion, if they proved strong enough.

"Well, uh, thank you," Brendan said. "Your Pokémon look very well cared for as well." He wanted to sound polite, because he wasn't entirely sure how to describe a ghost Pokémon.

Phoebe giggled. "Not used to ghost-types, are you?"

"Honestly, the only ghost I've ever met is May's Spiritomb, Asteroth," he said with a hint of embarrassment.

"Well, I admit, their creepier appearance can be off-putting to some…well, most people," Phoebe said. "I was once one of those people at first. When I was just starting, I struggled as a trainer, but I wound up being helped by a ghost Pokémon, and I completed my island challenge with her help. She was especially helpful with my Ghost Trial, which is when I decided to start to exclusively training ghost Pokémon. But, without a league in Alola, I was forced to travel around other regions to become more powerful as a trainer."

Brendan and Avery were both listening quietly, not wanting to interrupt.

"It wasn't until I reached Hoenn that my full potential as a trainer came forth, not unlike yourself, since your potential came out when you came to Hoenn," Phoebe said with a grin. People in the crowd seemed interested in the conversation, but they were now waiting on baited breath to see the battle continue. "Now, with those gorgeous Pokémon of yours, I want to see how much of your own potential you've realized."

That was Umbra's cue to begin as she threw a Shadow Ball at Avery. The Eon Pokémon did a barrel roll out of the way casually and letting the attack hit the ground and kick up dust. Avery already knew that Umbra just threw that to get her attention, and that the next shot would not be so slow.

Avery fired a strong Dragon Pulse at Umbra, aiming for the Dusknoir's center. The Gripper Pokémon, however, lived up to its name as she held out one hand and stopped the stream of energy from scoring a direct hit. The beam spread out and showered the field behind her, losing less than a sixth of her health from the attack, but a majority was avoided. She closed her hand confidently as a Shadow Punch charged on her hand. She threw the punch forward, seemingly aiming for open air. Next, a shadowy fist of energy flew out from Umbra's hand, and quickly punched Avery powerfully. The attack took a full third of Avery's health, but the Eon Pokémon was not one to give up. Her eyes began to glow as she gathered a Shadow Ball of her own, getting it to the size and density of a 6.41 inch bore cannon ball, and fired it at Umbra at speeds comparable to Super-Man on foot.

Umbra, with all her experience, didn't have time to block or dodge. The attack landed perfectly, but the damage turned out to be lower than expected, taking about a quarter of what was left.

Umbra just smirked as she flew forward blindingly fast, and used an extremely cold Ice Punch to pummel Avery into the ground. Avery got back into the air, shaking herself off before she fired an Ice Beam, hitting Umbra again. The Dusknoir lost only a quarter more of her health, but she seemed to become stiff and frozen in-place. An icy blue highlighting appeared around Umbra's half of the scoreboard, indicating that Avery had gotten lucky. Umbra's eye was the only part that she could move expressively, and she was clearly glaring at Avery with utter contempt. Brendan was positive that Umbra was trying to give Avery an obscene gesture at that moment. Avery smirked like Gwen would, and she fired multiple Shadow Balls at Umbra, showering the Dusknoir with the attacks. Just as Avery started hitting her target repeatedly, the ice shattered and Umbra sent four tendrils out, tying them around both of Avery's wings, her body, and her neck. As the Shadow Balls hit, Avery began to share in the pain she was inflicting on Umbra. In seconds, both Pokémon collapsed and fainted, the buzzer sounding twice.

"Avery!" Brendan called as she fell, landing close to Brendan. She seemed to still be conscious for now, but she felt very weak, and Brendan could see it in her eyes. "You did very well," he said comfortingly. "I'm so proud of you. Now, get some rest for the next battle."

Phoebe nodded in appreciation of Avery's skill, and the obvious bond she had with Brendan. "Well done, Brendan," she said. "You're the first trainer to make it to this point in nearly a decade," she says, still remembering how Wallace had completely overwhelmed her when he was interviewed for the Champion's position. It still gave the island girl nightmares. "Having said that, I think your challenge is over now." Phoebe pulled out a Luxury Ball, and gave it a kiss, not unlike how Green Oak did with his Charizard's Pokéball. "Come on out Amethyst!"

The Pokémon that appeared was small and looked almost like an imp from an epic fantasy movie, with a completely purple body. She had two diamonds for eyes, another diamond on her back, and a ruby on her chest. When she smiled, her devious nature could be further seen with a mouth full of fangs. Brendan also noticed the Sablenite hanging from her neck. This would be a Mega Evolution battle, and Brendan knew it. She seemed to cackle at the thought of battling, but given her size, Brendan could guess she wasn't going to be a hard-hitting fighter. Phoebe wasted no time as she tapped her keystone pendant. "MEGA EVOLVE!" The Sableye began to glow with blinding radiance as the ruby on her chest detatched and grew to an enormous size, forming a shield of sorts. When the light faded, her body hadn't grown any, but her eyes were now rubies, she had a horn on the top of her head, and she was smiling devilishly as she hid behind her gem.

Gwen smirked as she stepped out onto the field. Brendan nodded to her as he touched his own Keystone. Gwen kept walking onto the field as she transformed into her wedding dress-like Mega form.

 _Alright, Amethyst, come at me!_ Gwen said. Amethyst just sniggered behind her gem, wanting Gwen to make the first move. Gwen decided to try a more strategic approach, but not with her usual strategy of Double Team and Calm Mind. She gathered a small ball of blue flames in her hand, throwing the Will-O-Wisp at the Sableye. What Gwen didn't expect, however, was Amethyst to rotate her gem slightly, and have the stone absorb the fire with a ripple in the massive ruby. With a loud cackle, Amethyst's eyes began to glow softly as the ball of fire flew back out of the stone toward Gwen.

 _What the fuuuuuOOOOOWWW!_ Gwen said as the flames hit her chest spikes. Phoebe, Brendan, and even Amethyst cringed a little, knowing that those were extremely sensitive, and a burn there was almost an unfair target against a Gardevoir, or a Gallade. _Okay, Gwen, think fast,_ she thought to herself, but the pain was just too intense to just ignore. _Fuck, that hurts!_ she says. She is then hit by a Shadow Ball from a cackling Amethyst, knocking her into a backwards roll, ending with her in a prone position, struggling to her feet. _I just need to get rid of this burn…_

She started to use Double Team, avoiding Amethyst's repeated, and blindingly quick Shadow Sneak attacks to figure out a solution. However, the burn was still hurting her greatly, and the fact that her health was already below half was terrifying to both Brendan and Gwen. _Well, she's probably going to be very defensive, but I'm running out of time._ Gwen inhaled sharply, and shrieked, using a powerful Hyper Voice. Amethyst crouched behind her massive ruby, hoping to weather the metaphorical storm, but the vibrations were intense as they came through the gemstone. Amethyst grimaced, but she managed to hang on as her health dropped to match Gwen's with less than a quarter left in total. Gwen grimaced as the burn caused more pain, making her health drop to an eighth.

Like Apophis had during the last battle, Amethyst seemed to get a smug look of victory on her face. Gwen glared daggers at the Ghost-type as she fell to her knee, gasping for breath. _This is my last chance to win,_ she thought. Silently, Gwen began to create a shadow ball, forming it behind Amethyst to avoid the massive ruby entirely, knowing that a direct hit to Amethyst's body would be the best way to win this battle.

Phoebe, however, noticed the Shadow Ball. "Amethyst, behind you!" The Sableye turned and jumped into the air as the Shadow Ball flew into the gem, the energy dispersing into the air. At that moment, Gwen's frustration got to a boiling point. All she could do was shout, the Hyper Voice was significantly weaker than the last one, but it was on-target. Amethyst couldn't dodge as the attack knocked her off the gem, making her land hard on the ground. Gwen winced again as the burn took its toll, stopping at exactly one point of health. She was breathing heavily, and she could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness. _No, I can't lose,_ she said to herself as she focused her mind. That was when the buzzer sounded. Gwen and Brendan both looked up, seeing that Amethyst had returned to her natural form, and her health had hit zero.

"It's over. With a heart-stopping finish, Brendan has won against Phoebe, meaning he has made it halfway through his Elite Four Challenge!"  
Gwen smiled as she reverted to her normal form as Brendan came to her side. "Hey, you fought really well. I'm really proud of you," he said as he held out her Pokéball. "Let's get you completely healed up. That burn looks like it hurts like hell."

Gwen laughed weakly. _You have absolutely no idea,_ she said as she tapped the button of her Pokéball, going inside and feeling a slight sense of relief as the pain from the burn was reduced.

Phoebe recalled Amethyst and she walked over to Brendan as he stood back up. "Well, your skills are certainly worthy of being in the Elite Four, as Sidney told us. It seems that your bond with your Pokémon was strong enough to overcome my team. I suppose it's only natural that you won." Phoebe extended her hand out to Brendan, which he shook politely. "Now, good luck going forward. You have no idea how terrifying the rest of the Elite Four can be."

"Don't worry about me," Brendan said. "I'll be ready for them." Phoebe smiled as she turned and headed back to the tunnel of the Elite Four. Brendan just silently wished he was right about being able to handle the rest of the Elite Four. If the second seat was saying the third-seat was scarily strong, then how strong would the leader of the Elite Four be? Or, even worse, the Champion?

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading and being patient with my slower writing. Hopefully you enjoyed this one.**

 **As usual, please leave a constructive review, and let me know what you think.**

 **Until next time ~ jmoul18**


	52. A Battle in Niflheim

_A Battle in Niflheim_

Brendan felt himself becoming mentally exhausted as his Pokémon finished healing and he let Gwen back out, the burn on her chest spike already healed. He was only two battles in, and he was already almost as tired as when he battled Groudon. _Well, I can see why people struggle with this challenge. The Elite Four are scary strong, and five battles like this in a row is daunting in its own right,_ he said.

 _No joke. I'm just glad we get to rest and heal between battles. Otherwise we'd have lost in the first second of our battle with Phoebe,_ Gwen said.

 _I just hope we can keep our momentum,_ Brendan said.

* * *

Up in the stands, May was nervously playing with the ring on her finger, which she was still getting used to wearing. But, her nerves weren't on-edge from being engaged to Brendan. She was having trouble comprehending the skill, power, and sheer terror at the combination she was witnessing in these battles. "I can't believe how strong those Pokémon are. I didn't even think this level of strength was attainable," she said.

"Well, this is the purest form of tournament battling. Trainers at this level have taken battling and turned it into an art," Lisia said. "I've only seen this level of power twice when I attend the tournaments here for my uncle, Wallace."

"Your uncle is the league champion?" Wally asked, not having seen Wallace in the Champion and Elite Four's box the previous day.

"Yeah, he got the job three years ago, today, and he's been getting stronger ever since then," Lisia said. "He started his training as a coordinator, as you probably have heard. But, he changed to a trainer after traveling to Alola to try the island challenge. His apparent favorite spot was Brooklet Hill, which is where he caught his signature Pokémon. That was ten years ago."

"Yes, I remember when he did that," Steven said, having overheard the conversation. "When he came back to Hoenn, he was this perfect combination of coordinator and trainer, so he took the mantle of the Sootopolis Gym leader. I realized he was on-par with my level of skill in battle when I held the title of Champion. Then, three years ago, due to the obligations I will be taking on as the President of Devon Corporation, I couldn't realistically keep the position. So, three years ago, Wallace came and proved his right to be Champion by beating the Elite Four."

May seemed to be getting more nervous as Steven spoke. "D-did he beat you?" she asked, remembering how strong Steven's Metagross had been, taking out Gwen in one hit.

"Yes, but don't forget that he took the position two years ago. A lot has changed since then," Steven said confidently. "I know why you're concerned, considering my battle with Brendan. But, the main reason I lost was because Wallace's style is a bad match-up for mine. I'm a strong defense and strong offense Steel and Rock-type trainer. He is a graceful and strategic Water-Type trainer."

"I see," May said quietly. "So, he had a consistent type advantage over you."

"Yeah, he did. But, I have been training a lot since that day, and I've made adjustments to avoid that, should he and I ever battle again," Steven said, his tone whimsical. "That would be a battle to remember."

May nodded. "Well, right now, I just hope Brendan can show Wallace a battle to remember."

"Knowing how the Elite Four is in Hoenn, I think Brendan's team will struggle against Glacia, but as for who will win…I couldn't say," Steven said.

May's concern only seemed to grow with the realization that Brendan would most likely struggle with this battle, and the ones to come after it. _Brendan, Gwen, you two had better play it smart. Don't go in guns-blazing_ , she thought.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just been given the signal that both battlers are ready for this battle to begin. The next member of the Elite Four is a chillingly strong presence on the battlefield. She comes from Snowbelle City in Kalos, and she is known for her fiery passion in battle. Give it up for GLACIA!" the announcer said enthusiastically. The crowd seemed to go crazy with joy at the sight of the blonde-haired woman in a periwinkle, ankle-length dress that flared out a little at the hips, and had a collar colored and shaped like a snowflake. She wore white gloves and a pair of sky blue high-heeled shoes. She wore a thick white cloth choker around her neck, which held Glacia's keystone a short distance over her sternum.

"So, you're Brendan? The trainer I've heard so many great things about, and the one who rode Rayquaza into Sootopolis to stop the rampage of Kyogre and Groudon," she said with a smile, her voice having the slightest hint of an Eastern Kalosian accent. "Allow me to personally introduce myself. I am Glacia, daughter of the Gym Leader, Wulfric."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Glacia," Brendan said. "And this Gardevoir here is Gwen. Yes, she is as sassy as the rumors say she is."

 _Thanks for the intro Goldenrod,_ Gwen said playfully, using her nickname for Brendan.

Glacia giggled slightly. "It seems your bond with her is indeed as strong as the rumors say. That's good," she said. "See, I've traveled the entire world, battling with an icy passion, hoping to find trainers who could match my fiery determination, and my strength in battle. And, I found…nothing. All I ever seem to come across are weak trainers and their Pokémon who get arrogant and think they're strong." She looked at Brendan, a fire already burning in her eyes. "But you…I'm intrigued by your reputation. You've made it to me as a challenger, and the others tell me your passion and ferocity in battle are comparable to a force of nature. Is that true? I hope it is." She smiled with confidence as she and Brendan both pulled out a Pokéball, his first choice being Jack. If what she said was a reflection of her Pokémon type of choice, a fire-type would be essential to winning this battle.

Glacia tossed the Pokéball in her hand like a tennis ball, her smile growing more determined as she saw a similar fire in Brendan's eyes. "I see you're excited. Now, show me what you've got. It would please me to no end if I could battle with everything in my arsenal against you. Now, I choose Khione!" she and Brendan both threw their Pokéballs out onto the field. The fire yak bellowed with determination like his trainer's, making Glacia smile. Her Pokémon, however, put a slightly worried expression on Brendan's face. In front of him was a blue walrus-like Pokémon with lighter blue hair on her head. She had four flippers, and her two tusks looked sharp.

"I think that's a Walrein," Brendan said with uncertainty. "A Water and Ice type. This could get interesting."

As he spoke, Khione fired an icy ball into the air, not unlike a Sunny Day. As she did, gray clouds began to form over the battlefield, and hailstones began to fall quickly, pelting the battlers. Khione seemed unaffected by it, which was to be expected due to her ice-typing. Jack flinched as he was struck by the hailstones, losing a small portion of his health.

"Are you prepared to fight a hailstorm, Brendan? You'd better be," Glacia says. "If you aren't, this will be as far as you go."

Jack snorted angrily as he launched a cluster of boulders into the air, using a Rock Slide to start his attacks. The rocks began to hit the Walrus, who seemed to have limited mobility. Her health initially dropped by about a third, but Brendan immediately noticed something odd. The health bar was increasing each time a hailstone connected with Khione. _Does that thing have…the Ice Body ability?_ Glacia's smirk was all Brendan needed to see to know that was, in fact, the case.

Khione smirked as she opened her mouth and fired a massive torrent of water at Jack, who barely avoided the attack. The resulting splash, however, was enough to take out at least half of Jack's health, and the hail didn't help either as Jack's health further depleted. Meanwhile, Khione's health was steadily being restored.

"Jack, let's increase the power!" Brendan said. Jack nods as he slams his foot into the ground, sending out a focused shockwave. Just as the stones were about to erupt from under Khione, the Walrein jumped into the air. It was a maneuver that Brendan thought impossible for such a hefty Pokémon. She then fired an Ice Beam, the attack barely missing Jack as it formed an ice tower that looked like a pine tree. Khione landed surprisingly softly and fired two more Ice Beams at the ground, making more obstacles and barriers of ice around the field.

Jack snorted and, with a loud bellow, a cone of pure, fiery heat flew from his mouth. It was a powerful Heat Wave attack, and it quickly began to melt the ice around the field. The heat even caused some damage to Khione, but the Walrein was too sturdy to lose like that, as her health dropped to a quarter of her maximum. Khione, however, disliked losing so much health. She gathered an orb of icy energy in front of her and she shot it at Jack, the Ice Beam attack hitting his face, and, with the help of the Hail, Jack's health hit zero. The yak stood for only another moment before he collapsed and the buzzer sounded.

"Jack, come on back!" Brendan said, recalling the Camerupt. "You fought well, I promise you that we will pull through this for you." He then pulled out Clint's Pokéball. "Come on out, Clint!"

Sceptile came out of his Pokéball, looking at the screen as a hailstone hit him on the head. His health bar dropped a little but he was more concerned with the steadily rising health of Khione. Clint grunted, and immediately launched an orb of energy for Sunny Day, nullifying the Hail storm and causing intense heat and sunlight to hit the field. As the sunlight got stronger, Clint seemed to grow more confident. An instant later, Clint fired a Solar Beam at Khione, who fired back with an Ice Beam. Unfortunately for the Walrein, all her attack did was reduce the damage. Clint expression turned to anger, even as the Solar Beam hit Khione, her health nearly hitting zero.

Clint huffed a bit, knowing his fight wasn't done. He powered up a Dragon Pulse this time, firing the purple energy at Khione. The Walrein responded with an Ice Beam, but it wasn't meant to intercept the attack. Instead, she fired it at the ground, launching herself into the air as she came down attempting to land a Body Slam on top of Clint. Clint saw the Walrein hurtling down toward him, but he smirked as he powered up a Leaf Storm and launched it up at the Walrein. Khione was knocked backwards, and she quickly found herself on the ground, the attack taking out the last of her health. The buzzer sounded, and Clint put his hands into the air in victory. Glacia just smirked softly as she recalled Khione, sending out her next Pokémon.

"Go, Fūjin!" she called. The Pokémon that came out looked like a walking, snow-covered evergreen tree mixed with a yeti. He had two green feet, and two green hands, followed by white fur for the rest of his body. His face looked like he had a moustache of pine needles for fur. "Say hello to my Abomasnow, and his ability: Snow Warning!" As Glacia spoke, the sky returned to a hail storm. "It will last the rest of the match, and I am quite certain of that."

To prove her point, Fūjin took a breath and used a powerful Frost Breath. Clint couldn't dodge it as the attack flew at him. He fell to his knees as his health dropped by three-quarters. "Oh no," Brendan said, watching Clint's health drop again. "This isn't good."

"It seems you weren't ready to face me," Glacia said almost condescendingly. "You're indeed strong, but I don't think you were ready for this level." Clint's eyes began to light up with even more anger at her words. He, like Brendan didn't like it when people talked down to him or his friends. He stood up, feeling the sting of hail on him as his health dropped. The Sceptile looked back at Gwen, smirking at his friend. During this journey, they had trained together more often than he thought they would, and during their training together, he had picked up a couple of her attacks. He knew one that would help greatly if it hit its mark…but it wasn't very accurate, and his Leaf Storm against had drained him of a lot of energy. Regardless, Clint knew he had to try. He gathered a golden ball of energy, making it the size of a large cannon shot. He felt another hailstone strike him, and he knew he was close to losing the round, so he fired the Focus Blast. The attack wasn't nearly as strong as it would have been if Clint was in perfect condition, but it would have to do. Unfortunately, Fūjin unleashed a vicious attack of ice and snow, working off the hailstorm for a perfect Blizzard. Focus Blast hit its mark, halving Fūjin's health just as the buzzer sounded for Clint, who looked to be shivering from the cold of the Blizzard.

Brendan cursed a little as he recalled Clint. Thinking for a moment about who he would send out. Avery and Turk would be bad choices, with Abomasnow having a type advantage over both of them.

"Well, so much for you being a hot challenger," Glacia said in a disappointed voice. Brendan looked at her with a slight glare. "So far, you've shown skill…but there's just a spark missing from how you and your Pokémon battle." She sighed. "Oh well. I suppose we can wait for another challenger to show us the passionate fighting that we've been seeking."

Brendan's eyes seemed to light up with a fiercely burning fire. "You want passion?" he asked as he pulls out Nikki's Pokéball. "Let me show it to you!" Nikki came out onto the field, immediately charging forward with her hands both on fire as she prepared two Fire Punches. She charged forward, the blaze on her hands getting more furious. Fūjin smirked, his hands beginning to glow gold as he charged a Brick Break with both arms, seeing what kind of fight this would become. He and Nikki both started what could only be described as a boxing match. Fūjin got the first hits, landing four quick jabs to Nikki's chest. The Slaking groaned and punched back, landing a much more devastating hit. Brendan watched as both Nikki and Abomasnow fought with everything they had, Nikki using a switch-hitter slugger style, while Fūjin was using a more orthodox swarmer style. They both exchanged hits, and both of their health bars were then left with only a quarter total. That was when Fūjin made a critical mistake, going for a Haye-Maker. Nikki took the massive window for a slip, and she delivered a much more devastating uppercut, hitting Fūjin's jaw from below.

The buzzer sounded before Fūjin even hit the ground. Nikki let the fire on her hands go out as she breathed heavily from the bout. Brendan looked at the screen, seeing Nikki's health get to a sliver of red, even with the damage from the hail. He then heard laughing from Glacia.

"Well, now THAT was just about what I've been looking for!" she said excitedly as she pulled out her next Pokéball. "THAT'S what I am trying to draw from you. You have it now, keep that mentality for the rest of our match! You'll need it. Especially against Elsa!" The Pokémon that came out was a nearly pure white spirit-like creature that seemed to be wearing a kimono with a red sash around what Brendan assumed were her hips. She had two horns made of ice, and her eyes were surrounded by purple skin, her eyes gleaming in a starkly contrasting yellow. The hail, however, made the Froslass seem much more like a specter than even any of Phoebe's ghost Pokémon.

To make it worse for Nikki, Elsa seemed to thrive in the hail, vanishing into the storm. Nikki could barely sense where the Froslass was, aside from some creepy giggles that seemed to come from multiple different places at once. Nikki was looking around, struggling to find her target, but she couldn't track the ghost type. To get creative, Nikki slammed her fists into the ground, sending multiple spears of rocks up from the ground in rings. The Stone Edge covered the entire battlefield but Elsa just seemed to dodge easily as she vanished and reappeared in different places around the field. Nikki's health kept dropping with each hailstone, but she stayed standing strong, despite her legs starting to shake from exhaustion. Brendan kept his fist clenched, Nikki knew her trainer desperately needed to win this battle. She closed her eyes, her mind focusing on where this Froslass was going, and where she would appear next. She smirked as she gathered black energy around herself, getting ready to use a Feint Attack. It was a last-ditch effort, but she knew she couldn't miss with this attack. She then seemed to fade into the shadow as she looked for Elsa, finding her and grabbing the ghost and reappearing just to punch the Pokémon and slam her into a nearby rock pillar that hadn't retracted into the ground after Stone Edge was finished. Elsa seemed to giggle as she took the hit, then she delivered a powerful Wake-Up Slap to Nikki's face, sending the Slaking crashing into the ground. Not waiting for her opponent to recover, Elsa disappeared, then fired an Ice Beam, hitting Nikki perfectly freezing her in a block of ice. The ice shattered as Nikki's health hit zero, and the buzzer rang.

Brendan grimaced a bit, recalling Nikki. "I need to go with the smart choice in typing," he said quietly. "And Dark is the best type for beating a Ghost." He then grabbed Turk's Pokéball and threw it onto the field. Turk appeared on the field, looking very ready to battle. He punched the ground with his claws, showing his determination to win this fight and began his attacking by using Rain Dance, his motions making the clouds shift and start producing rain, albeit it was a very cold rain. Turk then charged up a Night Slash, leaping at Elsa in an Aqua Jet.

Elsa would have none of it. She focused for an instant, gathered electricity, and fired a Thunderbolt. With no time to dodge, Turk was hit and sent flying back into the ground, rolling and tumbling for a few feet, grunting painfully the whole way. When he came to a stop, so too did his health bar, which hovered just above a third of his maximum health.

Turk glared at Elsa menacingly, before he fired a Water Pulse at the Snow Land Pokémon. The attack flew across the battlefield, gaining power from Rain Dance, and it nearly hit Elsa, who just barely got out of the way. The attack continued on, splashing against the barrier around the field. When Elsa dodged to the side, she unknowingly played into Turk's plan. Turk jumped up behind her, a Crab Hammer attack charged and given greater power by the rain. He smirked and immediately pummeled her with his claw, launching her into the ground. Brendan took a look at the screen in time to see Elsa's health hit zero, followed by the buzzer sounding once more. Brendan wanted to take a breath and let some tension out, but with Glacia still having three Pokémon left, he couldn't relax yet.

* * *

Up in the stands, May was also feeling extremely tense, watching as Glacia sent out her next Pokémon, calling the name "Boreas" as she threw the Pokéball. The creature that came out looked like an ice cream sundae in a dish with two faces, and a few ice crystals near the icy dish. "Woah, a Vanilluxe!" Lisia said excitedly. "It looks just like the themed dessert they have in Slateport!"

"Well, it does look like a vanilla soft-serve sundae," May says, smiling as Turk lunged forward, powering up another Crab Hammer, flying at the ice cream Pokémon. Vanilluxe just casually dodged as Turk flew by, and he simply fired a ball of energy into the sky, returning the weather to a hailstorm.

"Damn, it's like they just don't want to let the other keep a weather advantage," Wally said as he watched the exchange. "But, with Turk out there, I'm shocked that Glacia hasn't used–" he stops as he watched Boreas launched a ball of ice energy that looked extremely cold, almost like it came from liquid nitrogen. The ice then struck Turk, nearly freezing him solid, like a lot of the moisture had left his body. The ice shattered, and Turk fell to the ground, the buzzer sounding immediately. "And there it was: Freeze-Dry," Wally said. "It's the only ice-type attack that's super effective against water-types."

"I was hoping Glacia wouldn't have that attack on her team, but I guess that was just a pipe-dream," May said as Brendan recalled Turk, and sent out Avery. She smiled softly as the Latias nuzzled up to Brendan again, cooing excitedly. "She's such a sweetheart."

"By the way, May, I have a question for you," Lisia said.

"Hmm?" May said as she turned and looked at Lisia.

"Have you given any thought to future endorsement deals?" Lisia asked politely.

"What do you mean?" May looked confused as she asked that question, watching Avery dodge multiple Ice Beams and responding with equally inaccurate Dragon Pulses.

"Well, once you get to the level of either League Champion or Regional Top Coordinator, athletic companies try to get contracts and make new product lines. For example, my contest apparel line became wildly popular in Hoenn and Sinnoh," Lisia said.

"Well, that would be quite nice, but I don't even know what products we would be able to sell," May said with a slight blush.

"Have you not looked around the stadium?" Wally asked. "I've seen hundreds of people wearing a hat exactly like Brendan's. Kantoan Eagle Outfitters has actually sold out of that hat since he became famous. Hell, there are a few women with your style of bow, and there's even a few people who seem to have made a poor-quality dress like Gwens."

May looked around the stadium, and, sure enough, she saw what Wally was saying. There were so many hats like Brendan's that it looked like the hail was falling in the stands. "Well, I think I just figured out what Brendan and I are going to sell in the future," she said, her smile widened. "We'll make a new clothing line for trainers."

As she said that, Avery fired a Thunderbolt at Boreas, hitting her target. Boreas seemed to have electricity arcing from his body slightly. The Vanilluxe's health bar was then surrounded by a yellow highlight as it dropped to the halfway mark. "GREAT SHOT, AVERY!" May cheered happily, standing and clapping. "You've got this!"

When she sat back down, Lisia and Wally were both wearing amused expressions. "You're really into Brendan's battles, aren't you?" Lisia asked.

"Well, yeah. Are you not into his battling?" May asked.

"We are, but nowhere near how _into him_ you are," Wally teased. "I guess that's why you're marrying him."

"Oh, shut up," May said playfully as she sat back down. _Brendan, I know you can win._

* * *

Back on the field, Brendan was silently rejoicing about the paralysis condition. "Great job Avery, now use Dragon Pulse!" Avery reared back and fired a beam of purple energy at Boreas. The Vanilluxe barely managed to dodge the attack, only for Avery to use her real strategy. She launched an orb of energy into the air, which then split into a shower of meteors, which all flew directly at Boreas. The Vanilluxe couldn't even begin to dodge all of them, getting hammered with the Draco Meteor. While the attack took a lot of power out of Avery, it was clear that it took a hefty toll on Boreas's health. The Vanilluxe glared at Avery for a moment as his health dropped. He was about to pass out but he used the last of his energy to use an Icy Wind, the massive tunnel of ice and snow covering the whole battlefield, slowing Avery down and cutting her health by a quarter. The buzzer then sounded as Boreas fell to the ground.

"I like the style that you are showing with Avery," Glacia said, recalling Boreas as she talked. "You're good for sure. But I wonder if you can beat Shiva." She tossed her next Pokéball, which let out a massive, bipedal polar bear-like Pokémon with icicles hanging from her mouth.

"A Beartic," Brendan noted. "Haven't seen one of them outside of Kanto's Safari Zone Zoo during their special Ice-type exhibit."

 _Brendan, don't go down memory lane,_ Gwen said. _You need to focus!_

 _I know,_ Brendan said back. Avery was a bit slower now, but she was able to out-speed Shiva. The Beartic, however, didn't even try to dodge, taking the full force of the attack and letting her health drop lower. She then gathered an orb of icy energy in her hand and threw it into the air. Unlike when the other Pokémon on Glacia's team had used Hail, this one hovered over Avery, following her as she moved. It then began to rain down massive chunks of snow and ice in an Avalanche. Avery cried loudly at each impact, trying to stay strong and fight through it, but the attack just kept coming. She then felt herself drifting slowly to the ground, her vision fading and blurring. The buzzer sounded when she hit the ground, half buried from the Avalanche. Brendan was too far away to go to her side, so he settled for recalling her normally. "Avery, you fought really well. I promise you that I will win this match," Brendan said to the Pokéball. He then nodded to Gwen. They didn't exchange any words, both just knew that they were behind, and Gwen knew she had to beat two Pokémon in a row. It would not be easy, but they had faith they could do it.

Brendan immediately touched his Keystone, knowing they'd need to get as much power as possible to win this match. Gwen transformed into her Mega form in five seconds, her puffy dress flowing beautifully. That, however, was interrupted by a Slash from Shiva. The attack was powerful enough to knock Gwen backwards, dropping her health by a quarter. Gwen teleported away from Shiva, gathering her energy into a large golden sphere of a Focus Blast in front of her, firing it at the Beartic. Her range and timing were both perfect, which made it a perfect hit. The attack exploded around Shiva and sent her flying into the barrier around the field, collapsing to the ground as her health bar shot to zero faster than any had in the past two battles. _Huh…a single hit? Kind of anti-climactic, isn't it?_ Gwen asked.

 _Kind of, but that's not the climax_ , Brendan said. _We still have one more Pokémon to finish._

Glacia looked more serious now as she pulled out a Luxury Ball. "Well, you've come farther than expected. But, I've seen the pattern to your battles. It's always a back and forth between you and your opponents, and Gwen is always your last. And, I'm going to guess that you think you have a chance to win, but you're wrong. Especially against Morozko!" Glacia threw her next Pokéball out, which released a floating black orb with horns and a face covered by a steel-colored ice cage. He had blue eyes and a mouth that looked like he was gritting his teeth. Around his right horn was a band with Glalite on the front.

Before Brendan could even react, Glacia had already touched the keystone in her pendant, sending light beams together, and Morozko's energy spiked immensely, his mouth seemed to spread and open wide, a third horn sprouted from his forehead, looking to be made of ice, while the other two horns extended slightly and gained streaks of ice. His chin then sprouted horns, with what could only be described as a burly beard, but it was formed by his purely black skin.

 _Morozko, huh? The East Kalosian name for Father Winter?_ Gwen asked. Brendan wasn't even going to ask where she learned something so obscure. _I can take him, I just hope he doesn't have any hidden trump cards._

Just as she said that, Morozko started to gather a metallic energy around his horns, and he began to spin rapidly. Despite the pace of his gyrations, he didn't move all that fast. He actually seemed to be building up speed with his attack, like a spinning top.

 _I'm not about to get hit by that Gyro Ball,_ Gwen said, her worry clear in her telepathic voice. She then took a deep breath. _Time for a Hyper Voice_. Gwen then screamed at the top of her lungs, the sonic wave hitting Morozko directly. While his health did drop by a third, he also started to spin faster. An instant later, he flew at Gwen, hitting her in the stomach and sending her flying back as nearly all of her health was taken out, leaving her with maybe a fifth of her maximum health. _Holy shit, if I ever have kids in the future it'll be a fucking miracle,_ she said to herself as she saw the Glalie come to a stop beside Glacia.

"Well, we've seen how strong Gwen is, and Morozko seems to be the stronger of the two," Glacia said, sounding almost cocky. "In your position, you should just give in. Ice can be beautiful, but at the same time it can also be incredibly dangerous. And, in this case, ice is clearly far too harsh for you to handle." Gwen saw that both Glacia and Morozko were too caught up in their apparent victory to notice what she was doing. This was her chance. She closed her eyes and allowed the green aura of a Calm Mind to subtly cover her body. The hailstorm still raged on, the stones stinging her skin, but Gwen ignored them as she felt her power increasing steadily. "You fought with passion and a fiery intensity that I've never seen before, and for that I commend you. However, I can also say beyond any doubt that forfeiting is the right thing to do in your position. I really don't like hurting your Pokémon unnecessarily. But, if you insist on taking this path, then the injuries your Pokémon suffer will be squarely on your shoulders."

Gwen's health kept dropping as she felt the hail hit her, including her chest spike. She wanted to keep increasing her power, but now she wanted to get this woman to be quiet. _HEY, GLACIA!_ The Elite Four member looked completely shocked at Gwen's tone, but she didn't say anything in response. _Don't you_ _ **dare**_ _count Brendan and me out. You'll regret it!_ Glacia went pale at the massive fire raging in Gwen's eyes. In turn, she saw that same passion reflected in Brendan's eyes.

"This is it," she whispered. "This is the heat and passion I've been seeking for so long." Morozko sensed that as well, and he gathered his icy energy into a ball of what looked like the coldest energy possible. "It's time for Sheer Cold!" Morozko fired the energy in a sphere of ice and absolutely frigid winds. Gwen didn't even have time to react, nor did she even try. The attack, however, seemed to stop in front of Gwen and simply go around her, as if the power she was giving off was greater than that of the Sheer Cold.

 _Also, stop monologuing! It's pointless!_ Gwen said as she gathered energy for another Focus Blast, this one much bigger, and clearly more powerful. _See you in the Distortion World!_ She threw it like a baseball, the orb moving faster than a tank shell. The Glalie tried to move but found himself stuck as Gwen held him in place, the blue aura of her Psychic making that clear. _You're not going anywhere!_

Morozko grunted loudly as the Focus Blast hit with the force of a mortar explosion, throwing him into the ground and forcing him to revert to his normal form. The buzzer sounded, and Brendan's picture was highlighted in white. The crowd, however, didn't react since the dust hadn't settled. When it did, May was the first one cheering in the stands, which roused the rest of the audience.

"And it looks like Brendan has pulled out the win in a brutal struggle against Glacia!" the announcer said excitedly into the microphone. "He is now moving onto the fiercest of the Elite Four: Drake!"

Glacia recalled her Glalie and smiled as she approached Brendan. "You are very strong," she said with a tone much more pleasant than what she had used before. "And you fought with a fire that not even the coldest ice could extinguish. You truly deserved that win." She then looked to Gwen. "And I thank you for the lesson you've taught me. I might have won had I not assumed my victory." She then turned back to Brendan. "But, I should warn you, as strong as I am, Drake is leagues stronger. He will not tolerate any holding back. So, give it everything…and don't you dare lose to anyone until I face you again."

Brendan smiled at that last line. "Of course. And thank you for the warning," he said as he shook Glacia's hand. The crowd's cheers seemed to show hope for the next round.

So why was it that Brendan only felt fear about the last of the Elite Four?

* * *

 **Well, that took longer than I would've liked. Anyway, glad I finally finished this chapter. Hopefully those boxing terms I threw into the battle between Nikki and Fūjin weren't too much.**

 **For those of you wondering, or who may have seen the patterns, all of the elite four Pokémon are nicknamed in a way that relates to mythology or, in a few cases, pop culture related to their types. Hope you all enjoyed learning about the different Cold, Winter, and Snow deities if you looked up the names.**

 **Until next time ~ jmoul18**


	53. Drake-arys

_Drake-arys_

Brendan's body was physically aching as he put his Pokéballs onto his belt, letting Gwen back out. _It's too bad the hot springs in Lavaridge got destroyed. That would be a perfect way to recover after this,_ he said, seeing that the sun was already setting. They had been at this almost literally from dawn until dusk.

 _Yeah, well, the Pokémon responsible for that is still in that Master Ball you sent to Professor Birch's lab for security,_ Gwen said, although she could not deny that a hot springs bath would be very nice. But, it would need to wait until they got back home. For now, they were about to face the two toughest trainers they'd ever faced. The strongest of the Elite Four, and the Champion of the Hoenn region.

* * *

"Oh, my Arceus, I swear I'm going to have a heart attack if these battles stay this intense," May said. "I can't believe that he still has two more matches."

"And they are bound to be even more difficult," Lisia said, feeling almost as worried as May. She may not have been engaged to Brendan, but her best friend was, and she wanted to see her future best-friend-in-law win. She didn't care if a best-friend-in-law wasn't a real thing.

"True, and I can tell he's exhausted," Wally said. "Hell, I'm exhausted, and all I'm doing is watching."

May nodded, then seemed to start praying. "Please, let him win these last matches. He deserves it more than anybody," she whispered as Brendan gave the signal that he was ready to begin. "Please, Arceus, Jirachi, Victini, I don't care who."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's that time once again!" the announcer said. "The next obstacle for our challenger is the leader of the Elite Four, and the member of the Hoenn Elite Four with one of the longest tenures in the position globally, being here for forty years, almost matching Agatha's forty-five years. He took this position after his ten years of service in the Navy, where he achieved the rank of Admiral, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor, among other awards. These days, his two hobbies are training his Pokémon, and sailing. Please welcome Hoenn's dragon master, DRAKE!"

Unlike with the wild cheering for the previous Elite Four members, Drake was met with a controlled, respectful applause, which was paired with a beautiful playing of _Eternal Father, Strong to Save_. In addition, a few of the audience members, who Brendan assumed were veterans themselves, stood and gave him a full salute before joining the applause. That reaction alone told Brendan and Gwen that this was a man who commanded a great deal of respect from the region as a whole. Drake certainly looked like a seasoned battler, walking with a slight limp that Brendan assumed was either a joint issue from being over seventy-years old, or a wound from when he was in the Navy. Drake had on most of a navy commander's uniform, including a hat, more relaxed pants, and a black coat with a blue interior and a jagged tail, including the most military decorations Brendan had ever seen on one person. Beside the decorations was a single Pokéball beside a keystone. He didn't have a shirt on underneath his coat, but, despite his age, his physique was impressive, giving the impression that this was a truly free man with no restrictions. His white moustache was thick, almost making him look like a pirate captain.

"Brendan Maple," he said with a deep, commanding voice. "I've been hearing quite a bit about you for some time now, and not just from the other Elite Four."

"Really?" Brendan asked. "Who was telling you about me?"

"My old Navy buddy, Briney," he said with a smile. "He told me about how you rescued Peeko from Team Aqua, and he had nothing but good things to say about how you treated Pokémon." Drake's smile grew. "You seem to have a deep-respect for Pokémon and their power. I want to see how deep that respect of yours runs."

Brendan remained respectfully quiet, feeling that there was more to come. He was silently surprised that Mr. Briney was one of Drake's friends, but it made sense.

"You see, in their natural state, Pokémon are wild living things. They are truly free creatures. At times, they hinder us. At times, they help us," Drake said, closing his eyes as if for dramatic effect. "For us to battle alongside Pokémon as partners…do you know what it takes? Do you know what is needed?" Drake opened his eyes, which showed what looked like a pure state of calm, as his voice went deeper and quieter so only Brendan and Gwen could really hear him. "If you don't, you will never prevail over me." While Brendan and Gwen were still getting chills from how badass that single line was, Drake threw his first Pokéball out. "Go, Cassie!"

The Pokémon that came out was an Altaria, much like Ali, but her appearance was more like a fighter than a contest star. She began to sing happily as she flew out onto the field. The cloud-wing Pokémon smirked happily, always enjoying her battles, and with the sun setting, she loved the atmosphere this battle would have.

Brendan thought for a moment, then pulled out his first Pokéball. "Let's go, Turk!" The Crawdaunt came out, and he was quick to figure out what he would use to start. His claws clamped tightly, and they started to glow a light blue as they were covered in an icy energy. He leapt forward and swung with all his might. Turk then leapt at Cassie, swinging his fist hard with an Ice Punch. The Altaria dodged quickly, with Turk punching the ground, creating a block of ice in the center of the battlefield.

Cassie smiled and began to sing lightly, almost as if she was enjoying herself more than she felt threatened by the Crawdaunt. Immediately, she gathered and fired a ball of pearlescent lunar energy, which landed and exploded behind Turk. It wasn't a direct hit, but the Crawdaunt's health still dropped by half. Turk shook himself off as he got back to his feet and coated himself in water as he flew forward. He needed an Aqua Jet to connect with his physical attacks, especially with this Altaria using fairy attacks with such proficiency that it rivaled Gwen in power and proficiency. Turk began to fly around the arena in a bullet of water, his Aqua Jet getting more speed as he decided to improvise further. In a brilliant move, Turk angled for Cassie, and leapt out of his Aqua Jet. He swung an Ice Punch at the water, freezing it into a sledgehammer of ice that was moving at unbelievable speeds. Cassie tried to dodge, but the attack was too fast. She cried out as the pillar crashed into her right side, shattering as it hit the ground, taking the cloud-winged dragon with it. At the same time, the buzzer sounded, and Cassie passed out.

 _That felt a little…easy,_ Brendan said to Gwen. _It doesn't feel like he's as strong as Glacia was._

 _Maybe he's lost a step over the years,_ Gwen suggests, though her tone suggests she doesn't even believe herself.

Drake smirked slightly as he saw Brendan's look of confusion. He pushed a button on his belt which opened the floor of the stadium to reveal the pool underneath as he took out his next Pokéball. "That's it boy, let yourself think I'm a pushover. You'll soon regret that," he said too quietly for Brendan to hear. "Come on out, Achlys!" Drake called loudly as he threw the ball, letting out a Dragalge, which looked like a sickly, brown and purple version of a Seadra, but with fins that draped out like kelp. She then dove into the pool, and popped back up, firing a sine wave of sludge at Turk. The Crawdaunt huffed in anger and flew into the air, dodging the Sludge Wave almost easily. It felt like Achlys was only going at half-ass in this battle. Turk didn't mind that as he swung with an Ice Punch. Dragalge dodged by diving into the water and moving back. Turk smiled and dove into the water. If Achlys wanted to have a battle in the water, he would oblige her. After all, he was at home in water. Achlys, however, was also more comfortable going sub-marine.

As they both dove under, she fired a Water Pulse, which flew at Turk faster than it would have on land. He took the hit, losing only an eighth of his health before he powered up a Night Slash and used an Aqua Jet to fly forward. The attack hit its mark, dropping her health by a third. Achlys glared at Turk, firing a beam of draconic energy at him. The attack was powerful, and it flew fast through the water. Turk tried to dodge, but he couldn't get out of the way in time, a single Ice Beam being shot from his claws at the venomous dragon. Both the beams hit hard, resulting in their health bars both hitting zero, and causing the buzzers to sound together.

Both Pokémon surfaced in the pool, being recalled by their trainers. _That was way too easy again,_ Brendan thought to Gwen. _Something's not right._

Drake smirked. "So, you've noticed how easy it's been since we started this battle," he said as the pool closed. "I suppose it's time to introduce you to my next Pokémon, Nidhogg!" The Pokéball he threw opened and released a Pokémon that looked like Falcor from the classic _Never-Ending Story._ It even seemed to have a moustachio, which did little to diminish the unease Brendan felt with its pink, pupil-less eyes. "Before you ask, this is a Drampa. He is from Poni Island in the Alola region. I will tell you no more beyond that," he said with a powerful grin.

"Then I'm choosing Nikki!" Brendan said as he sent out the Slaking. Nikki pounded at her chest and grunted to show dominance. She clenched her hands into fists as she glared at the dragon, gathering energy for a Brick Break. She then leapt at the Drampa, slamming her fists into Nidhogg's body. Unfortunately, it was already far too easy at face value as the attack dropped Nidhogg's health to less than two thirds. At first it seemed to be a good thing for Brendan, but that was before a crimson aura appeared around the Drampa.

"Oh, no no no," Drake said. "Seems you've activated Nidhogg's Berserk ability. Every time his health reaches below half, his special attacking power increases. And, let us now show you the benefit of this ability!" As Drake spoke, Nidhogg rotated to face Nikki, opened his mouth, and fired a massive Dragon Pulse at the Slaking. It was all he needed to finish off the Slaking, her buzzer sounding as she landed hard, her fur smoldering from the energy wave.

 _No fucking way,_ Brendan thought as he recalled the Slaking. _He just took out Nikki in one hit!_

 _We need to play this carefully, and we need to be smart,_ Gwen said in reply.

Gwen's point was proven even more true when Brendan saw Nidhogg shake himself off a little, feathers scattering around him with a green aura. _No…he knows Roost too?_ Brendan's hand went to Avery's Pokéball. _She's one of my best evaders other than Gwen, and I know she can fire back if she has enough time, but Nidhogg seems extremely precise with his shots._

 _I think Avery may be your best option here other than me, but I get the feeling his Mega-Evolution will need to be taken on with a Fairy-type or an Ice-type,_ Gwen said with a look of concern.

Brendan nodded to Gwen as he sent out Avery, the Eon Pokémon coming out playfully once again, nuzzling against Brendan softly and happily. "Hey, Avery," he said with a laugh. "I'm glad you're feeling better after the battle with Glacia. But, I need you ready to battle again, and this time, I need you at your best with evasion and timing to beat this Drampa."

Avery flew up about four feet as she turned to face Nidhogg, barely rolling out of the way as a powerful Dragon Pulse blasted past her. Avery then fired back with her own Dragon Pulse, the beam of energy moving fast. This attack was a bit weaker, but, when it struck to dragon, it still took Nidhogg's health down to less than a quarter. That, however, may have backfired on them again, as the Drampa's crimson aura flared again.

Nidhogg only rotated his head lazily and fired his own Dragon Pulse at Avery, who just barely barrel-rolled out of the way. She fired an Ice Beam at Nidhogg, who used a Protect immediately, negating all of the damage. The ground immediately surrounding the dragon was frozen over slightly, which would limit his movements severely. Nidhogg glanced at the ground, seeming unconcerned as he was surrounded with downy feathers and a green aura again as his health raised back to just over three-quarters of its maximum. He then fired another Dragon Pulse, this one much bigger than before. While Avery was fast, she just couldn't avoid it entirely, her left wing getting clipped, but even a glancing hit was enough to cut Avery's health in half.

Avery lost altitude with the impact, firing another Dragon Pulse. Her shot was precise, but it still only brought Nidhogg's health to about a sixth left. Once again, the dragon was surrounded by a crimson aura, and he followed it with a Dragon Pulse of his own. This one hit its mark perfectly, knocking the Eon Pokémon out with energy to spare. Avery cooed sadly before she collapsed on the field, ending up almost right in front of her trainer.

Brendan ran to her side, kneeling beside her. "Hey, you did great. I promise you that we're going to win this battle." He hugged her neck comfortingly before recalling her and going back into the challenger's box. He took Clint's Pokéball from his belt.

"Boy!" Drake called out. "You seem surprised by my Pokémon being this much stronger than you last two. Well, my specialty during my service was psychological warfare. I specialize in luring the enemy into a sense of overconfidence, then crushing them with all the might at my disposal. That is why the only loses I ever faced incurred back then, and even now, had minimal casualties and only to make the enemy think they had the advantage. That lures them into making a rash choice only to meet with a painful lesson. You fell for the first two, who serve more as patrol boats, now you're going to face the other four. Nidhogg here is the frigate of my fleet. I still have a destroyer, a cruiser…and a carrier. You're fighting a losing battle now."

"We'll see about that, Admiral," Brendan said respectfully as he threw out Clint's Pokéball. The Sceptile looked at Nidhogg with determination. Immediately, leaving the Drampa no time to use Roost, he used a Dragonbreath. The stream of flames hit Nidhogg easily, dealing enough damage to leave a small sliver of health for the dragon-type. As the attack dissipated, Nidhogg's body began to show signs of static electricity coursing through him, and his health bar was surrounded by a yellow highlight. Nidhogg tried to use Roost, but he was stopped by his paralysis. Clint let the leaves on his arms extend into green blades of energy, and sprinted at Nidhogg, slashing the dragon with a Leaf Blade. The buzzer sounded as Nidhogg finally passed out. Drake smirked as he recalled the Drampa.

"My frigate has been taken out of the battle…but now you face my destroyer!" he said as he threw out a Pokéball. "Come out, Dustin!" The Pokémon that came out was a green lizard of sorts with two kite-shaped wings and red covers on his eyes. His tail was evenly segmented with darker green areas until the tip, which had a three-pointed crown-shaped plumage.

* * *

"Cool, it's a Flygon!" Lisia said. "They're one of the less-used dragon-types, but they're really versatile in terms of battle usability."

"I just hope this one isn't as strong as Nidhogg was," May said with her hands folded in prayer. "Brendan, please keep pressing on."

"He can do it," Wally said, sounding unusually confident. "I know he's going to win."

* * *

Clint opened the round with a quick Dragon Pulse, but Dustin flapped his wings easily, spiraling around the shot and using a Dragon Dance to increase his speed and power. The red and black aura surrounded him for a moment before he did an aerial flip, his tail glowing a metallic grey. Clint leapt to the side as the Iron Tail slammed into the ground hard, making a miniature canyon in the ground where it hit. Clint hit back with his own Iron Tail, sending Flygon back through the air. The dragonfly Pokémon spun back slightly until he righted himself, unleashing a jet of flames at Clint. The Sceptile responded by firing a Leaf Storm. The Leaf Storm spiraled around the Flamethrower, igniting the leaves, and both attacks hit their marks. Clint stayed on his feet, but only barely. Dustin, however, fell from the sky, landing hard as the buzzer sounded.

Drake huffed lightly, recalling Dustin and smirking. "Your Sceptile is quite strong," he said as Sceptile used Synthesis to recover health. "Now for you to face my cruiser. Come out, Vulcan!" This Dragon was a massive, bipedal creature with a thick tail, and two red tusks that looked like he had an axe in his mouth. His scales were mostly a golden-green, with his chest, inner thighs, the tip of his tail, and a mask pattern on his face all being black. His claws and eyes were both red, and he had more of a beak for a mouth.

"Is that a Haxorus?" Brendan asked in awe, having wanted to see one in person for a while since he saw a broadcast of one of Drayden's battles in Unova.

"Yes, Vulcan here was a gift from Drayden many years ago," Drake said with a grin. "He served in the Unovan Naval Special Forces during the Great Pokémon War. As you probably know from your history books, Hoenn and Unova were allied in that war. During the battle of the Whirl Islands, I came to their aid when their fleet was under heavy fire. He gave me an Axew, the son of his own Haxorous as thanks. He has proved instrumental in almost every battle, and he has made my opponents tremble in fear repeatedly."

"Then I won't disappoint your expectations if you're using such an important Pokémon," Brendan said. Clint used another Synthesis to get his health back up, but Drake's smirk told Brendan that he had hoped for Clint to do that. Vulcan's hands both became covered with brownish-purple energy as he leapt forward, using his tail to slap the ground and accelerate forward. Clint fired a Dragon Pulse at the last second, but his Leaf Storm had left his special attacking powers weakened. Vulcan punched through the attack, and while he lost some health in the process, his Poison Jabs hit perfectly. The first hit was to the stomach making Clint double over, then to the side of his head to send him flying. Despite his health being nearly full, the buzzer sounded the moment that Clint crashed into the wall of the arena. Brendan recalled Clint, thanking him and promising that they would still win this battle. Unfortunately, Brendan wasn't certain that his words would be the truth. Drake was good…really good.

"Boy, I don't want to see that look of doubt on your face!" Drake said loudly. "I did ask you if you possessed the quality needed to bring out the best in your Pokémon. I've seen that in you so far, but I can tell that it's being shaken. There is no more room for doubts. Finish this battle strong, win or lose, and hold your head high no matter the outcome. You're qualified to join the ranks of the Elite Four regardless of the outcome of this battle."

Brendan looked at Drake with a shocked, but thankful expression as he took Jack's Pokéball off his belt. "Thank you, Admiral," Brendan said. "I needed to hear that. But, I think you should know that you may have just spurred your own loss."

"If that is the case, then so be it," Drake said back as Brendan sent out the Camerupt, who gave his bellow of defiance and confidence. He then gathered a ball of eerie blue fire, using a Will-O-Wisp attack. Vulcan tried to dodge, but his tail didn't get out of the way in time. The Haxorus growled angrily at the burn, and his anger began to show as he became surrounded by a scarlet aura, indicating the start of an Outrage. Jack decided to make it harder for Vulcan to get a hit, so he shot an Eruption into the air and stomped onto the ground to start a Stone Edge. Magma-coated rocks rained down while spears of rock shot up from the ground in front of Vulcan. The dragon just pummeled his way through the rocks, not worrying about the fact that his health was dropping below the half-way mark. He finally crashed into Jack from the front. Jack slid back, his health dropping rapidly. Luckily, he held on with a sliver of health left.

Jack grunted and slammed his foot onto the ground again, using a powerful Earthquake. Vulcan lost his footing as the ground broke apart beneath his feet, and he was hit hard with the rising stones. The buzzer sounded once again as the Haxorous remained on the ground, knocked out. Drake sighed and recalled Vulcan, his smile looking damning for Brendan.

"It has been some time since a challenger has spurred me to use this next Pokémon. He has been with me since I was just beginning my travels, when I was just a year younger than you are now," Drake said as he took the Pokéball from his coat. "Now, it's time for you to face Albion!"

The Pokémon that came out was the first dragon-type that Brendan had ever seen in-person that looked like a dragon from fables and fantasy shows. He was nearly all blue, with red wings shaped like the blades of a battle axe, much like Vulcan's tusks, and red scales over his eyes, throat, and bottom of his tail. His underbelly and lower jaw were both white, but neither looked like weak-spots, his underbelly looking more like armor than skin. He stood on four, very powerful legs, and his tail extended about the length of his nearly eight-foot-long body. His head was about four feet off the ground, and he had three spines on his jawline. Albion, the Salamence, seemed to easily be the most menacing Pokémon of Drake's team, and the fact that there was a bracer with a Salamencite on his left front leg only made that clearer to Brendan.

Although, shockingly, Albion didn't mega-evolve right away, nor did an Intimidate drop Jack's physical attacking power. Brendan didn't have time to look at his Pokédex to see what Salamence could have for an ability, though. He had a hunch that it would be revealed soon. Jack started with a powerful Stone Edge. Albion, however seemed almost disinterested as he leapt into the air. The dragon covered himself with a blue fiery energy and dove at Jack. The Dragon Rush attack had pinpoint accuracy, and it sent Jack flying, almost making him crash into Brendan if Gwen hadn't caught the fainted Camerupt with Psychic. The buzzer sounded and Brendan recalled Jack just in time to see a red aura around Albion, indicating a boost in physical attacking power.

 _That's Moxie,_ Gwen said, somehow looking paler than her white skin usually showed as she looked at her opponent. _That on top of the naturally high attack of a Salamence…I feel a bit sick._

Brendan hugged Gwen tightly. "You can do it. We've overcome tougher odds than this. Don't forget that we held our own against Groudon."

Gwen sighed and relaxed. _Yeah, you're right,_ she said. _I can do this._

 _Use a reflect first to be safe,_ Brendan suggested as they separated. _And fight defensively._

Gwen nodded as she walked out onto the field, her dress flowing in the wind that blew over the battlefield. Her green hair blew to the side slightly as Brendan touched his keystone. Drake smiled and did the same. The two Pokémon both began to glow brightly, Gwen changing into her Mega form, and Albion changing into his.

The Salamence's new form, however, was almost terrifying. His wings had fused into a huge crescent moon shape, while his underbelly's armor had extended to form what could only be described as a harness so Albion could get his front legs out of the wind to reduce drag. The spines around his head had extended, one on each side now looking more like half of an angular falcata. His throat was now covered in only red scales.

Gwen was intimidated for sure, but she made sure not to let it show. No sense in giving the opponent the idea that they were winning psychologically. She immediately began by creating a sphere of light blue energy around herself, the Reflect at least buying her a temporary defense. She then began to use Calm Mind, gathering her energy.

Salamence also became surrounded in a red and black aura, the Dragon Dance increasing his speed and strength as he flew at Gwen, his wings beginning to glow with a metallic grey energy. At the last possible moment, Gwen teleported out of the way. Albion's Steel Wing missed, but the dragon was not about to let that slide. He used another Dragon Dance, gathering more power and speed. Gwen turned as Albion flew by and threw a ball of purple static electricity. The Thunder Wave intercepted Albion with perfect timing, making the Salamence seize up a little. The dragon slowed down significantly, but that didn't stop him.

Albion launched himself at Gwen once more, his fangs coated in fire as he reached for her, his jaws clamping down on her like she was a chew toy. If that wasn't enough, she could feel the fire scorching her body. _Owwwwwwowowwow!_ Gwen cried out as she felt his teeth almost cutting into her. She acted fast, making stones levitate with psychic energy around them before they all began to pelt him. Albion roared in protest, letting Gwen go. Gwen managed to teleport to the ground safely, but she was hurting severely. Her health was below a quarter now, while Albion was still over half. _I need my favorite attack,_ she said to herself. Albion took another dive, his wings glowing with a Steel Wing once again. Gwen knew that she would lose if that hit, so she screamed, her Hyper Voice booming through the field. The force of her shout was great enough to make everybody in the arena cover their ears as hairline cracks appeared in the cement of the seating areas. The attack was incredibly timed, making the Salamence roar in protest as he flew back. His health plummeted, but he wouldn't be content with just letting himself lose like this. He spat out a jet of flame for a powerful Flamethrower just as the buzzer sounded. Brendan was declared the winner, but Gwen was still hit with the fire from Albion's last attack. As the smoke cleared, the crowd gasped. Gwen was still standing, and her health had only been dropped by less than an eighth by that attack. She was on her knees, but she was staying up. Albion, however, was out of the fight, and was back to his natural form.

Brendan breathed a sigh of relief, but his accomplishment of defeating the Elite Four had yet to register. "We won," was all he said. Drake, however, was applauding as he approached Brendan. "Superb, it should be said! That was an incredible battle!"

"Thank you, sir," Brendan said in response. "I don't think I would've pulled this off without your encouragement."

"No, don't sell yourself short," he said with an almost stern look. "You and your Pokémon have the passion and the bond that you needed to overcome me. THAT is what you'll need if you intend to defeat Wallace too."

Gwen, who was now back in her normal state, tapped the button on her own Pokéball, going inside so Brendan could start getting her healed for their next match…the battle of their lives.

"I should also thank you, boy," Drake said with a chuckle. "I'm now heading to my retirement after I watch your battle with Wallace. That battle will determine who will take the top slot of the Elite Four, and who will be the Champion of the Hoenn region."

Brendan's heart started to race as he heard Drake's words, and his victory finally registered in his mind. "Arceus, help me," he said. The sound of thunder in the distance might have been a sign of Arceus answering positively, but Brendan's gut told him that a storm would not help him in this final battle.

* * *

 **Damn, that took a while, but I'm proud with this battle. Please review, let me know what you think, but keep it constructive.**

 **Next Chapter needs no lead-in. Wallace is fighting Brendan, and that will be the end of the main storyline of** _ **Brendan's Journey**_ **. After that comes the Delta Episode Chapters, and there will be 10-15 of those, depending on how detailed I make them.**

 **Until next time – jmoul18**


	54. Wallace Rain

_Wallace Rain_

As Brendan pulled out his Pokéballs from the slots in the healing machine, he saw the ominous storm clouds building overhead. There were multiple plexiglass panes that extended out from the top of the stadium, covering all but the battlefield. It was a message that a Champion must be able to win in any circumstance, including weather. Lightning flashed overhead, and Brendan, guessing that Wallace was a water-type trainer based on Juan's specialty, knew he'd be at a huge disadvantage. Plus, based on how Lisia said Wallace used to be in contests, Brendan knew that the man he would be facing would likely have the most precise timing of any opponent he'd faced to date.

 _Are you nervous?_ Gwen asked calmly, having sensed her trainer's thoughts.

 _A little. I know that we can't prepare for this battle anymore than we have, but I'm concerned with how tough this will be for us. We'll be battling against water-types in a storm, and I don't have Groudon to counter it,_ Brendan said. Gwen giggled, knowing he was joking about using such a dangerous Pokémon for a battle like this one. Besides, Brendan knew that using Groudon would not reflect his skill as a trainer. It would only showcase Groudon's power, and how Brendan didn't truly raise a team worthy of being champions.

As they contemplated their possible strategies, the lights began to dim, and two floodlights lit up by the tunnel of the Elite Four. Along the path, four lights were shining on each side of the walls. The darkness from it being night paired with the storm clouds made the silhouette in the tunnel all the more ominous…if he wasn't dressed so fabulously. Indeed, the man in the tunnel had not changed his eccentric nature much since Brendan and May met him in Sootopolis.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the main event of the night!" the announcer said happily. "It's time for Brendan to show whether he is the strongest trainer in Hoenn. This is the final battle for the Pokémon League tournament. The challenger will now be facing our Champion, who has proven his extraordinary skill in all areas of Pokémon training. He has been named top coordinator in Sinnoh and Hoenn, and he took on the Alolan kahunas at their full power during his time off from being a trainer. He took up the role of champion three years ago. Please welcome, WALLACE RAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINN!" Two pillars of smoke erupted from the ground by the tunnel, and lightning flashed as the Hoenn-league champion walked onto the field.

"Hello there, Brendan and Gwen!" Wallace said as he crossed the field to shake Brendan's hand before the battle. "It's good to see you again."

"It's great to see you too, Wallace," Brendan said with a smile.

"You know, I didn't get a chance to truly thank you for what you did in Sootopolis," he said. "That was superb work that you and May did in stopping Kyogre and Groudon. I'm not sure the region would even be here if you two hadn't done what you did."

 _What am I, chopped liver?_ Gwen asked jokingly.

Wallace chuckled. "My mistake. I suppose it wouldn't be fair to say it was only Brendan and May who stopped that crisis. That victory came from the trainers working with their Pokémon as one," Wallace said before looking back at Brendan. "I'm ready to begin when you are."

"Then let's get the battle started," Brendan said, his smile showing that he was more at ease now. Wallace smiled back and nodded before walking to his side of the field. When he got there, however, Wallace turned, looking like he had more to say.

"Against Sidney, you proved that you had the skill it took to overcome a member of the Elite Four. Against Phoebe, you proved that you could outsmart tactics of subversion and sabotage. By defeating Glacia, you showed that your fiery passion for battle could help you beat the worst conditions in battle. By defeating Drake, you proved your bond with your Pokémon could get through even the most trying of battles without falling," he said. Brendan, Gwen, and the entire audience were listening carefully. "It's clear that you have trained your Pokémon well, and taught them incredibly powerful moves. At the same time, your Pokémon have taught you a great deal about yourself. Together with your beloved Pokémon, you have achieved a great deal in the year since you came to Hoenn, young Mr. Maple. And this battlefield is where your achievements will be put to the test against one who has achieved much of the same." As he spoke, Brendan took out Clint's Pokéball, and Wallace picked his own first choice of Pokémon for this battle. "Now, who can most elegantly dance with their Pokémon in Hoenn? Show me and the rest of the world, right here, and right now. Go, Harmony!"

The Pokémon that came out of the Pokéball was unlike any that Brendan had ever seen before. It was an elegant sea lion Pokémon that looked like a mermaid. It had a pure white torso with two light blue frills that looked like a skirt and a collar. Her hair was an aqua color, with two white scrunchie-like ties three inches apart on her hair. On her forehead was a crest with more frills like her skirt and collar, along with what looked like the base of a tiara. It was framed by her pink ears that looked almost like starfish. Her tail was all blue, with five pointed spines by her skirt. The end of her tail was a white dorsal fin with a frilled cover. Her blue eyes, with pink irises and blue pupils, were framed by an elegant pattern that looked almost like perfect wings of make-up.

Brendan, before sending out Clint, pulled out his Pokédex. Primarina, the Soloist Pokémon. Native to Alola. Known as a songstress, it has a fantastical look on moonlit nights when it leads its colony in song. To a Primarina, every battle is a stage, and its magnificent singing voice is its primary weapon, and the melody of its song is learned from others in their colonies. Trainers of a Primarina must prioritize the maintenance of its throat for the sake of the Pokémon's health.

"A vocal Pokémon, huh? Sounds intriguing," Brendan said. "Clint, let's show them what you're made of!" He threw out the Pokéball, releasing the Sceptile, who grunted and gave a cool, collected look to Harmony. She gave an alluring wink to Clint, but the Sceptile just ignored it, taking a deep breath. He began the match with a ball of light for a Sunny Day, knowing that the storm overhead would cancel it out and make a win that much harder to achieve. Harmony only giggled, almost like Avery would when she was playing with her friends.

Harmony giggled again and fired an Ice Beam at Clint. The attack seemed much stronger than what any other Pokémon could've managed. Clint leapt to the side, rolling to dodge as a big sheet of ice formed on the ground. Harmony then giggled and began to sing, gathering an orb of glowing water in the air in front of her. Her hair then came undone as she got up onto her tail and fired the orb. Clint responded with a Solar Beam, which managed to hold the Sparkling Aria in-place for a while.

Harmony then leapt into the air and fired an Ice Beam at Clint. He redirected his Solar Beam from the weakened Sparkling Aria to the Ice Beam. The water attack hit him hard, but it did very little damage to him. Clint's Solar Beam and Harmony's Ice Beam erupted into a bright cloud of dust, covering the whole field. There were a few additional flashes inside the cloud as the combatants fired more attacks, kicking up more dust. Neither one was having much success with their accuracy, but each shot felt like it had the power to severely cripple the recipient's chances of victory, if not make them lose the battle completely.

Just as Clint was about to get a bead on Harmony, he felt a rain drop, and lightning flashed directly overhead. Brendan cursed under his breath as the clouds opened and a torrential downpour began. "Hmm, looks like nature isn't on your side," Wallace said with a smirk. "That, or it's just giving us one hell of a cinematic setting."

Brendan had to laugh a little. It definitely felt like the former was true in this situation. He was facing a water-type master in the pouring rain…and now he knew he'd be soaked to the bone after this battle. Clint looked rather miserable in the rain, in sharp contrast to the Primarina singing happily across the field.

Clint grimaced as the rain canceled out his Sunny Day, effectively removing Solar Beam as a viable option in this battle. He would need to try a more physical approach now, so it was time for Leaf Blade to come out. Harmony just giggled and launched a Scald attack. Boiling water rushed at the Clint, but he managed to roll out of the way before running at Harmony. He powered up his Leaf Blade, keeping his form nearly perfect. He seemed to vanish from sight as he sped up and ran at Harmony. He slashed with perfect timing, but it was met with an equally well-timed Protect. Clint suddenly stopped in his tracks with his attack. He struggled to push and break through, but he was then hit with a powerful Scald. The attack hit its mark, the boiling water making Clint roll back, getting a bad burn all over his body. At that moment, though, lightning flashed and all the stadium flood lights, along with the health bar screens.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems the power has been knocked out by the storm. We have a few back-up generators in this stadium, but it's only made for some lights, the phones, and the PA systems. We will need to rely on the light created by the Pokemon in battle until the other two kick in," the announcer said.

 _This feels like Luke's battle with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back,_ Gwen said to Brendan as Clint powered up his Leaf Blade once again, lighting up like energy blades.

 _I don't really see the comparison,_ Brendan said, his focus clearly on the battle itself, and not the aesthetics. Harmony then smirked and gathered a nearly red-pink Moonblast, firing it at Clint. The Sceptile glared and leapt to the side, knowing he couldn't break through the attack. He was now kind of glad it was raining, as it soothed his burns to a tolerable level. It was still weakening him, but he could push through it. He slashed at Primarina again, hitting her this time. The musical cry echoed through the stadium, only for Clint to use the close range to wrap tendrils for Giga Drain around her body. He landed and pulled on them like leashes. Harmony glared back and turned her head enough to fire an Ice Beam. Clint couldn't dodge without releasing the Giga Drain, so he tried to weather the hit. He must have managed to absorb enough energy to stay up, because he stayed on his feet long enough to release the Giga Drain and look Harmony in the eye.

If looks could kill, then Clint's glare had just turned deadly. His tail suddenly lit up, and he whipped his body around, firing a swirling vortex of glowing leaves at Harmony. The attack hit perfectly, and it sent Harmony into the air, spiraling around before giving her a piledriver drop, slamming her into the ground headfirst. At that moment, Clint collapsed from the burn damage. Even without the buzzers, Brendan and Wallace both knew their Pokémon were out of the fight. They said nothing as they recalled their Pokémon, the battlefield starting to flood lightly.

"Well, Brendan, this is one hell of a storm. It's just too bad Pokémon battles on this level are not postponed for any reason short of the apocalypse," Wallace said. "But, you've already faced an apocalypse and won, haven't you?"

Brendan smiled, despite being miserable and soaked. "You know, if it wasn't dangerous to do so, I could send out Primal Groudon and make this storm clear up," he joked as he pulled out Jack's Pokéball.

"Don't even joke about releasing that monstrosity here. There are too many people," Wallace said as he pulled a Pokéball off. "Now, let's continue with this. Go, Cruella!" The Pokémon he released reminded Brendan of his battle at the Dewford beach party, where he fought a Tentacool. He knew this towering jellyfish, with pincers that looked like curved swords, was a Tentacruel. It would be fast, and it could have multiple attacks that could make this battle infinitely harder. She stood with the pincers as a base, and her ten massive tentacles for support. Brendan remembered hearing that Tentacruel started with 80 tentacles, and they lost tentacles as they got stronger. If Cruella only had ten left, then she was likely one of the strongest of her kind. Brendan knew he had no choice, though. He had to win against Cruella, even if Jack was at a severe disadvantage.

"Jack, I have faith that you can pull through. Come on out!" Brendan said. Gwen began to shiver, trying to huddle up to Brendan to stay warm.

 _Sorry, I need to keep warm,_ Gwen said.

 _Don't worry,_ Brendan said with reassuring grin. Jack, feeling the rain, knew he couldn't use his fire effectively, if at all. This would be a battle he'd need to win with his ground-type attacks. Wallace, however, was laughing to himself.

"Oh my, Brendan, I'm sorry. This is not your best tactical choice. However, I won't stop you," the Champion said.

"Perhaps Jack is at a disadvantage, but he's strong enough to overcome that," Brendan said. To prove his point, Jack bellowed and sent a golden shockwave through the ground. The Earth Power erupted up underneath where Cruella had been. The Tentacruel had move incredibly fast and gotten behind Jack. She wrapped her front two tentacles around him and lifted him off the ground. The red bulbs on Cruella's head glowed violet briefly as she fired two consecutive orbs of toxic energy into the air. They both erupted into smaller pieces, and they buried themselves into the ground. Cruella then raised Jack higher and slammed him down onto a spot where multiple spikes had landed. Jack was immediately covered with a sickly purple grease on his fur. Brendan knew he was badly poisoned. Cruella even seemed very pleased with herself. Jack growled as he used a strong Bulldoze, making Cruella's body seem to stumble as the ground shook. The stumbling made a purple aura to appear around her briefly as her speed fell.

Jack smirked as he used another Earth Power. This one hit its mark, and Cruella was forced into the air, only for her to fire a Hydro Pump at Jack. Jack got a worried look as he threw up a Protect at the last second, and the water rushed around the shield. Jack tried to hold it, but Cruella kept her attack going. Jack knew he couldn't hold his defenses, so he did the only thing he could think of, tunneling into the ground, and digging deep. Cruella scoffed as she stopped her attack. She stayed still as she felt for the vibrations in the ground. She found Jack easily, one of her tentacles slamming into the ground over him, sending a shockwave down to him. He buckled under the hit, yet he forced himself forward until he broke out of the ground, colliding with the Cruella's underbelly. The Tentacruel groaned and wrapped two of her left tentacles around Jack and whipped him out from under her, his poisoning doing damage to him just before Cruella slammed him into the ground with all her might. She immediately followed up with a Hydro Pump, which Jack could only watch approaching. He took the full force of the water, passing out. Brendan recalled Jack, seeing the Tentacruel across the field. A flash of lightning showed an expression that looked almost like she was smiling condescendingly. Brendan really didn't like that look. Cruella's smug aura was mocking him, and Gwen felt the same way.

Brendan pulled out Nikki's Pokéball, sending out the sloth ape. Nikki, not wanting to be out in the rain any longer than she needed to be, immediately ran forward and grabbed Cruella's tentacles, whipping the jellyfish around and slamming her into the ground the same way she did to Jack. To top it off, despite being badly poisoned upon touching the ground, Nikki charged a Thunder Punch, slamming her fist into the Tentacruel's face, finishing the job Jack started, knocking out Cruella.

Wallace recalled the Tentacruel, and immediately had another Pokéball in his hand. "I hope you're ready for a dance," he said. "Because Javier will make this place loco!" The Pokémon that came out seemed to have a duckbill, a grassy cover, a sombrero-like lily pad on his head, with a contagious smile. His green hands and feet showed a great deal of energy as he bounced rhythmically. "Hmm, a Ludicolo?" he asked. The Pokémon danced eagerly, bouncing from side to side happily. "This might be tricky."

"You got that right," Wallace said over the roar of the rain as Ludicolo began to move quickly, as if the rain was making him get faster.

 _Oh, shit, it has Swift Swim!_ Brendan thought. Gwen, whose hair was now matted to her head, could only agree silently.

Nikki gathered more electricity for a Thunder Punch and leapt at Javier. She threw her punch only for him to grab her by the wrist and spin, planting her hand into the ground before spitting three seeds onto Nikki's body. Those seeds seemed to implant onto her back before sprouting. They then glowed green and energy was transported to Javier. The Leech Seed was perfectly timed. Nikki realized then that, while she was a slugger and a power fighter like Tyson, Javier was very much like a Jiu Jitsu master, using his opponent's momentum against them before using his own attack to cripple his opponent. Nikki, however, was too strong to be bound by the ground. She wrenched her hand free, then slammed a backfist into Javier's face. The Ludicolo gave a quack and flew across the field. There was no energy behind that attack other than her muscular strength, but it still did a lot of damage.

Javier smirked, though he mixed it with his usual goofy grin. He landed on the ground and smiled as the leaves sprouting from Nikki's back began to glow. Her energy was sent to Javier just as she took poison damage. Nikki glared at the Carefree Pokémon, and made her body began to glow gold as she charged a Façade. She sprinted at Javier, who responded with an Ice Beam. Nikki pushed through the chilling attack, knowing she was about to pass out. She couldn't let that stop her, though. She got to the Ludicolo and lashed out. The power of the Façade was immense, pummeling Javier into the ground. Nikki fell to her knees as the Ludicolo was knocked out too. That was when the poisoning finished her off as well.

"Well, that was interesting with their fighting styles. I honestly expected Nikki to fall first," Wallace said as he recalled Javier. "But, that is the end of the easy battles." As he spoke, the stadium flood lights turned back on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that our second backup generator has kicked in. We'll now have lights to see the full battle, but the screens will need the third generator," the announcer said. At the same time, Wallace pulled out an Ultra Ball.

"Brendan, as tough as you and your team are, this next Pokémon will be a terror for you. I now call on Calypso!" Wallace threw the Ultra Ball out, sending out a Pokémon that most people believed to be a myth. She looked like a mix between a deer and a hound, with light blue fur on all of her body, with the exception of the white fur on her underbelly and white diamond-shaped patches, two on each leg and three along her ribs. She had a purple mane flowing from her neck, and a bifurcated ribbon-like tail that flowed on each side of her body. Her head was adorned with a massive, nearly crystalline, diamond-shaped antler. She gave a chilling, yet comfortingly pure howl.

 _A Suicune,_ Gwen said with awe in her voice. _And she looks extremely strong._

"One good legend deserves another," Brendan said as he took Avery's Pokéball. "Come on out Avery!" Despite the downpour, Avery still flew to Brendan's side, nuzzling his hand like a needy kitten. "Hi Avery, I'm glad to see you too. This is our last battle of the tournament no matter what the outcome. So, let's give it our all, with nothing held back."

Avery cooed and looked at Calypso with a fire in her eyes. She could sense the Toxic Spikes in the ground, and even though she wasn't affected, she knew that her teammates would. She concentrated for a moment before a thick, but temporary fog rolled in and pulled the Toxic Spikes out of the ground, making them dissipate in the air. The Defog move also gave Avery a better focus on Suicune, as the other distractions had been removed.

Calypso seemed to be unaffected by the change, though. Instead, the legendary water-type fired a powerful Icy Wind. The chilling wind even affected Brendan as it blew through the field. Avery tried to dodge it, but she couldn't move out of the way in time, so she took a good deal of damage, and she got slower. She responded as she gathered a Thunderbolt, but her body moved too slowly, and Calypso saw it coming. The Suicune scoffed as the electricity came at her and leapt back as a cloud of smoke appeared in front of her, before a PokéDoll appeared to take the hit.

"Woah, a Substitute," Brendan said. He knew that the move had a price of health, but it was very useful to avoid damage from a strong attack. The pouring rain amplified the power of the Hydro Pump she fired, giving it more pressure than Brendan or Gwen thought possible. It looked like it was twice as powerful as water coming from a firehose. Despite the power, the water was completely clear, appearing to be perfectly pure water. Avery, who was already flying over the spiraled under and around the water, her body moving gracefully. She then fired a Thunderbolt at close range, blasting the Suicune with a lot of lightning. The attack dealt some damage, but Calypso was a defensive Pokémon. She immediately surrounded herself in an orb of water, her Aqua Ring seeming to, once again, be perfectly pure water. "Huh, perhaps it has something to do with how Suicune is known for purifying whatever water it comes into contact with," Brendan said curiously.

 _Brendan, now isn't the time to be distracted like that,_ Gwen chided.

 _I know, but Avery has this handled,_ Brendan said back. Surely enough, it seemed that Avery was holding her own, firing Dragon Pulses and Thunderbolts as she flew around the stadium. At the same time, Calypso was regenerating her health steadily with Aqua Ring, and the green aura around her told Brendan that she was boosting her power with Calm Mind.

Avery, meanwhile, was struggling to keep up her blasts. She still had a lot of energy to fight, but Calypso clearly had more energy to fight and withstand her attacks. Just as Avery was about to fire a Thunderbolt, Calypso seemed to vanish, only to reappear on Avery's back. Calypso fired a powerful Ice Beam at Avery's back. Avery cried out and she fell to the ground. She crashed into the dirt hard, but she still managed to stay conscious as Calypso jumped off of the Eon Pokémon. Avery glared up at Calypso, knowing that was a really dirty move. She focused for a moment, deciding to mess with this Suicune. A violet aura surrounded her and tendrils grabbed Calypso briefly. With a bright flash of light, Avery began to look more confident, her Guard Split having worked perfectly. Then, with another flash of light, Avery's wounds seemed to heal with a Recover. Avery got back into the air easily. She then smiled, feeling her lightheartedness break through what had been a serious demeanor. Avery knew that she had been too focused on the win, and that almost made her lose. Now she was ready to make this rainy battle into a fun time for everyone…and pack some serious power into these next attacks. But, before she could do that, Calypso fired an even stronger Hydro Pump. Avery dodged to the right, but the force of the attack carried it forward into the cement wall. There was no barrier over the walls, so the sheer force of the Hydro Pump made a massive crack up the side of the stadium, cutting it almost like a hydro-blade. The crowd shrieked in fear, but the announcer and those working at the event all remained calm.

"If all the spectators would please remain calm. You are all safe. The barrier will keep you from any harm. Just relax and enjoy the battle, because this is the normal levels of power when the Champion battles," the announcer said. His words did little to quell the worries of the audience, parents in-particular.

Avery didn't notice any of that, including the stadium damages. She simply gathered her energy for a Thunderbolt, firing almost instantly. Calypso then fired an Ice Beam again. The Thunderbolt spiraled around the incoming Ice Beam, both attacks hitting their marks hard. That was when they heard the buzz as the screens came back on. "Ladies and gentlemen, it appears the third generator is up and running. We will now have live-feed of the health of each Pokémon." Calypso's health was the one that had hit zero this time, and Calypso was on the ground, knocked out. Avery was struggling, but she was still up in the air, wanting to continue.

Wallace sighed. "Well, Calypso, you fought beautifully. Get some rest now," he said as he called her back. "Brendan, I have a question for you. What do you think about Magikarp and Feebas as Pokémon?"

"I mean, back in Johto, people would call Magikarp a weak Pokémon, and I've rarely even seen a Feebas, so I couldn't fairly judge the Pokémon as a species. But, I never consider Pokémon to be weak," Brendan asked. "Why do you ask?"

Wallace smiled. "Seems you understand the principle that is essential to being the Champion. There are no strong or weak Pokémon inherently. It is the trainer's job to bring out the best in their Pokémon. These next two of my team embody that. Let me introduce you to the first one: Finn!"

The Pokémon that came out was one that Lance from the Indigo League had made famous. It was a blue sea serpent with a yellow underbelly and a blue crown-like horn on his head, with multiple three-pointed dorsal fins along his body. This was the Atrocious Pokémon, Gyarados. And, in a collar of sorts around his neck, was a Gyaradosite. Finn coiled up on the ground, his body towering over the field at more than twenty-one feet.

 _Wait…this order is wrong,_ Brendan thought, remembering how the other Elite Four used their Mega Evolution last. Wallace still had one more Pokémon after this one. _Is he that confident in the power of his last Pokémon that he thinks it can take on Gwen without Mega Evolution? Or is he thinking he doesn't need all six Pokémon to win this?_

Finn just roared as he gathered water over his tail, the power gathering into an Aqua Tail. Avery knew she couldn't dodge with the speed of that attack, and she didn't have the energy to use Protect. All she could manage to do was throw up a blue shield for a Reflect. She was still knocked into the ground by the tremendous, ground-cracking force of the Aqua Tail. Finn roared in a show of dominance as he was surrounded with a crimson aura, showing his attacking power increasing.

 _Moxie…again,_ Brendan thought as he recalled Avery, thanking her for working so hard.

 _I think Turk can handle him,_ Gwen said, knowing she was going to be Brendan's last line of defense in this battle. Brendan nodded as he pulled out the Crawdaunt's Pokéball.

 _Turk has the heart to win, and he'll have the same power boost from the rain that Finn will have_ , Brendan said. "Turk, I'm counting on you. I know you can win this!"

The Crawdaunt appeared, loving the rain already. The storm was clearly getting worse at the moment, but neither of the Pokémon seemed to mind it. Even Wallace seemed unaffected by the rain now. Brendan, who was already soaked and feeling colder by the second, was just shivering.

Wallace simply grinned as he touched the Keystone in his bracelets. The resulting light was blinding, with the rain intensifying the brightness as the Gyarados's body got much thicker, and he grew two four-foot fins from his neck. His three-pointed horn grew longer, and his beard-like tendrils near his mouth extended longer. The yellow scales along his side got thicker, turning red in the process, and the scales on his underbelly turned black as they grew thicker. He coiled slightly again, letting his body rest on the ground as he towered over Turk. If the three-foot crustacean had any sense of fear at all, though, he didn't show it.

Instead, Turk surrounded himself in a circular column of illusory blades, with a crimson aura around the Crawdaunt as his attacking power doubled. Turk gathered energy on his claws and rushed forward, his Brick Break looking full of power. Finn just scoffed and swept his tail across the field, slamming Turk into the ground with a simple Slam attack. Turk grunted with the impact. He got back up and used an Aqua Jet to lift himself off the ground and get him close to Finn's head. Just as Turk was about to punch out, Finn used Crunch to catch the Crawdaunt and clamp down on him. Turk cried out at the immense pressure on his shell. He desperately swung and punched the Gyarados in the face, making Finn release him. Turk fell to the ground, using Hydro Pump to slow his fall as both health bars plummeted, but Finn's growl and glare told Brendan that this was over. It got worse as an Aqua Tail the size of freight engine was slammed down on top of Turk, making him rocket into the ground, break the floor and opening a ten-foot gap into the pool. The buzzer sounded as the floor split open, but it was unnecessary. Brendan knew Turk was out of the fight.

Brendan recalled Turk as the Crawdaunt floated up from the water. "Turk, thank you for fighting so hard. Now, rest up," he said as Gwen stepped onto the field. Brendan immediately touched his Mega Ring, and Gwen transformed into her Mega Form. The light from the change was almost more blinding than with Finn's transformation, but Gwen's power felt comforting to Brendan.

 _I'm ready to Finn-ish this,_ Gwen said with a grin at her bad pun. She quickly started to gather Fairy-type energy. _Time for lunar power to kick your butt._ She threw her Moonblast at Finn only for the Gyarados to fire a huge Hydro Pump to counteract it. And, to make things worse, it seemed that the Moonblast was getting pushed back. Gwen only barely managed to teleport out of the way of the shot before it hit the ground where she stood. _Damn, I need_ _sound for this. Brendan, you owe me a Lozenge for all this shouting I'm doing._ Gwen took a deep breath and was immediately slammed into the ground with an Aqua Tail that came seemingly out of nowhere. The attack dropped Gwen's health to less than a quarter.

 _Ow, holy shit! That hurt like hell!_ Gwen cursed as she got up. _Fine, want to play that way, I'll just have to do this._ She teleported onto Finn's back, gathering her power onto her lips. She leaned down and gave a Draining Kiss to Finn on his crest. The attack wasn't flashy, and it wasn't big, but Gwen's health was also restored to about half of her maximum. Finn roared angrily as he began to fall, his body beginning to revert to normal. Gwen teleported off of Finn's head, stopping a few inches from the gap in the floor that led to the pool. Finn's fall took him directly where Gwen thought he'd go: directly into the pool as the buzzer sounded.

Wallace sighed and recalled Finn. "Kudos to you on getting this far, Brendan. Remember how I asked about both Feebas and Magikarp? There was a reason I asked about both of them."

Brendan looked intrigued, but he didn't interrupt. He wanted to hear what the Champion would say.

"During my time as a trainer, I took a long trip to Alola, where I tried my hand at their island challenge. Back then, I was still a new trainer, and I hadn't yet found my specialty or my true style," Wallace said as he took out a sleek, black Luxury Ball. "It wasn't until I went to Brooklet Hill on Akala Island that I realized my desire to train water-types, and my desire to show elegance in battle. That was when I chose to try contests, and then I went to gym leading. This next Pokémon is the one I met on Brooklet Hill. She came up to me while I was simply soaking my feet in the water, and she was likely the friendliest and most outgoing Feebas I've seen." Wallace smiled nostalgically. "And we've been together ever since that day. Now, I think you and Gwen should say hello to my friend: MINERVA!" The Pokémon that came out was another massive sea serpent, just barely a foot shorter than Finn, but this one was much more beautiful. It was the most elegant Pokémon Brendan had ever seen. Her body was a soft cream-color, with two elegant streamers like those Wallace's cape was adorned with. These, however, were a darker pink color, extending nearly ten feet down along her body in a very streamline fashion. Her head looked like it had a single horn-like point, while the last eight-feet of her tail was covered in beautiful blue scales with black outlines. Her tail itself had four sword-shaped points arranged in the shape of a hand-fan. One thing that Brendan and Gwen both noticed, however, was a blue diamond-shaped crystal on a necklace. "Minerva is my Milotic, and she evolved from that same Feebas that I caught on Brooklet Hill all those years ago."

Brendan saw that, on Wallace's wrist, there was a bracelet similar to what Grace had been wearing at the Grand Festival when she used that Supersonic Skystrike attack. _Is this why Finn came out fifth? Is Wallace waiting to use a Z-Move?_ Brendan asked himself.

Gwen didn't bother to ask those questions. She saw the glimmer of power in Minerva's eyes. This would be a tough battle, and they both knew it. _May the better Pokémon win,_ Gwen said politely. Minerva just smirked and nodded as if to say "Of course, and the best of luck to you."

Gwen smiled as best she could, amidst the pouring rain, and began her favorite tactic, filling the field with her Double Team clones, and the green aura of Calm Mind surrounded her body. Minerva, however, only gave a sigh as she let out an icy Haze into the air. Gwen suddenly felt her increases in power fade as if the Haze was removing them, along with all of her clones. _Okay, I can't do that strategy anymore. It's pointless if Minerva can just remove the changes,_ Gwen thought to herself. _Fine, straightforward it is._ Gwen gathered electricity into her arms from the rainy air. Minerva smirked at Gwen's actions, gathering an orb of icy energy in front of her mouth. Gwen managed to teleport out of the way of the Ice Beam, but only a slight amount so her own Thunderbolt could hit effectively. While the chilling energy passed by, Gwen's electricity hit her target, making Minerva coo with discomfort as her health dropped to below half. Minerva glared and saw that Gwen was glowing with the green aura of a Calm Mind while she prepared another Thunderbolt, so she was quick to fire another Ice Beam. This time, Gwen had to aim to intercept the attack.

At the same moment, the two Pokémon fired, and their attacks collided, forming a massive explosion. Gwen held up an arm to shield her face from the debris, but the kicked-up dust made it tough for her to find Minerva, and it made her miss the glow of a pure white energy as Minerva used Psych-Up to copy the boosts of Gwen's Calm Mind. Gwen searched with her powers and found Minerva…in the pool below. At that moment, multiple tendrils of bright light flew through the air and connected with both Wallace's wristband, which Brendan now realized was the Z-Move equivalent of a Keystone, and where Minerva presumably was underwater.

"Prepare yourself Brendan," Wallace said. "You are the first challenger I've ever faced who made me feel the need to use the power of Minerva's Z-Move." He then made an X with his arms in front of his chest, followed by another facing up from the ground. His motion then turned to what seemed to be a hula dancer's arm motions, as if mimicking the motions of the ocean's waves. "Minerva, unleash your full-powered Z-Move: HYDRO VORTEX!" In that instant, the rain seemed to slow down for Brendan and Gwen. The floor of the battlefield was torn open further as a massive whirlpool formed.

Gwen didn't even think as she threw up a Protect. Despite her defenses, the attack still swept her up as the vortex towered higher, sending Gwen around and around like she was in a blender. The water was moving with a force stronger than any Hydro Pump that she'd seen today, and she quickly noticed that her Protect barrier was starting to crack. _No wa-_ she was cut off as the vortex shattered her shield, and water filled her throat.

Outside the vortex, Brendan's eyes were wide in horror as the massive cyclone met the barrier around the field on all sides and shattered it like it wasn't even there. The audience shrieked as the high-power water got scarily close to them. That was when Minerva could be seen, elegantly in the eye of the cyclone, her eyes showing confidence and power as the water stopped spinning and broke apart, raining back down onto the field and refilling the pool. Gwen screamed briefly as she plummeted to what was left of the ground. Despite being waterlogged, Gwen knew she had to aim for the pool. The floor was too torn up for her to land safely there. With another Protect briefly going up, Gwen plunged into the water. She caught her breath as best she could, now keenly aware of how Minerva had joined her in the pool and was now glaring at the Gardevoir. Gwen let her Protect fall as she swam to the surface, grabbing the edge and pulling herself up and onto what was left of the ground. The pouring rain made it tough for Gwen to focus, but she managed to look at the scoreboard. _I have…only a tenth of my health left, and Minerva still has about half,_ she said, trying to sort out her situation. _I know that Z-moves are one-shot cannons, but I'm not sure if I can take another hit at all._ She looked back at Brendan and saw his look of determination.

 _Gwen, you can pull through this. Don't forget, we still have some tricks up our sleeves,_ Brendan thought to her, knowing that not even the storm's thunder could drown out their mental voices.

Gwen smiled softly at Brendan. _You're right, Goldenrod,_ she said tiredly. _We can win this_. She shakily got to her feet and saw Minerva circling in the pool in front of her. Gwen then fired a Thunderbolt into the pool to draw out the Milotic. When the serpent came out of the pool with a shriek, Gwen grabbed her with Psychic. _Sorry, Minerva,_ Gwen said. _I will not let my trainer down._ She then directed Minerva over what land was left and slammed the Milotic into the ground. Minerva got up, having only lost a quarter of her health. She then raced forward, her head glowing with metallic energy as she tried to deliver a devastating Iron Head.

Gwen reacted by barely teleporting behind Minerva in time, the Milotic slamming into a piece of the floor that her Z-Move had broken up. The piece of floor shattered with her impact, leaving her unscathed. Gwen then surrounded herself with the aura of a Calm Mind once more as she took a deep breath. _Brendan, May…Mother, this is for you!_ Gwen said as she shrieked. It was her strongest Hyper Voice yet, and it was perfectly on-target. Minerva was thrown through the air only to slam into a newly-formed Protect barrier around the field, getting pinned by the soundwaves. She tried to fire a Hydro Pump, but Minerva couldn't turn herself enough to get her target in-sight. It was too late anyway. Minerva blacked out, and it wasn't until the buzzer went off that Gwen stopped her attack, letting the Milotic fall to the ground. At the same moment that Milotic hit the ground, the rain slowed to a stop, going from a deluge to the storm being over in a minute's time.

"L-ladies and Gentlemen, this match is OVER!" the announcer said. "THE CHALLENGER, BRENDAN MAPLE, IS THE NEW CHAMPION OF THE HOENN REGION!" The entire crowd erupted into cheering as they too realized what had just happened.

Brendan and Gwen didn't hear any of it, though. They were too in-shock over what just happened, even as Gwen returned to her normal form. _Brendan…did we just win?_ Gwen asked.

 _I…think we did,_ Brendan said as he saw Wallace crouching next to, then recalling Minerva, the now ex-Champion's eyes showing a bittersweet happiness as he approached his successor.

"Brendan… That was wonderful work. You were so infuriatingly elegant…and yet it was utterly glorious! Kudos to you! You are a truly noble Pokémon Trainer," he said. "The Pokémon you fought beside so bravely…at times, they danced like a spring breeze, and at others, they struck like lightning. It was with light, yet surefooted, elegance that you led your Pokémon. Even I felt bedazzled by your masterful performance! You now stand at the glorious peak of the Pokémon League. I now officially crown you–" Wallace's eyes went wide as he suddenly looked behind Brendan.

Brendan didn't even have time to react as he was spun around and kissed by May, who had convinced Sam to teleport her onto the field. The audience reacted with a mixture of _aww_ s and _WOOOOOO_ s. "Brendan, you did it! You were so amazing today! I almost can't believe it's over!"

Brendan laughed as he hugged her. "Well, I hope you're okay with getting wet clothes, because I'm drenched," he said, getting a giggle from May.

"It's okay, if it's from you," she said. Gwen, however, decided to join the moment, hugging both of them.

 _Hey, I got the biggest soaking of the day,_ she said jokingly. _I think I deserve a hug from my family too._

May blushed happily and they hugged tighter until Wallace cleared his throat. "Well, Brendan…no, Champion Maple, will you and Gwen please come with me?" He asked as he led the way toward the tunnel that the Elite Four and Wallace had exited from. Brendan smiled and followed closely, holding hands with May, and with Gwen on his other side. After they got into the tunnel, Wallace took them to an elevator. It was at this point that Wallace stopped. He gave May a sympathetic look before speaking. "I'm sorry Miss Birch, but from this point onward, only those who have become Champions can go on. I wish I could bend the rules for fiancées, but we cannot," he said.

May gave a groan, but the tone made Brendan laugh slightly. "Alright. It's not a problem. Those are the rules after all. Brendan, I'll wait for you and Gwen right here."

Brendan gave May a kiss on the cheek as the elevator's doors opened and he went inside with Wallace. "Thank you. I promise I'll describe what I see for you."

* * *

When the doors opened again, Brendan, Gwen, and Wallace were three floors below the stadium. There were no windows, but the lights were bright enough for Brendan to see the ten pictures around the wall. They all showed various trainers with their teams, all smiling like winners. "This is…the Hall of Fame." Brendan said.

Wallace smiled and nodded. "Indeed, it is. This place is where we record the victories and exploits of all those trainers who have become champions," he said as he walked to a console like the healing machine Brendan had been using between battles today, but it looked more complex. "Come, let us record your name as the trainer who triumphed over the Pokémon League, as well as the names of the Pokémon who battled with you as partners."

Brendan stepped forward, having Gwen go into her Pokéball temporarily for this as he inserted his Pokéballs in the order that the Pokémon inside joined his team…no, his family. The machine scanned the Pokéballs and, once a new frame and digital canvas formed on-screen, so too did the pictures of Gwen, Clint, Nikki, Turk, Jack, and Avery with Brendan on one knee in the center, smiling confidently.

"Congratulations, Brendan, you're Hoenn's Champion," Wallace said once again. "But, don't get too comfortable, because I'll be taking over Drake's old seat as head of the Elite Four, and I don't take losses sitting down."

Brendan chuckled with the good-hearted challenge. "I'll keep that in mind," he said as he reattached the Pokéballs to his belt, letting Gwen out in the process. "But, for now, I have a fiancée and a week-long nap both waiting for me."

 _ **One Week Later**_

Brendan, May, and Gwen all sat on a picnic blanket on Route 103, smiling as they rested near the pond where their whole journey began. Gwen had fallen asleep, deserving the rest after so many harsh battles a week ago. She needed the rest, but she wanted to be with her family foremost. "This is really nice," Brendan said. "No imminent problems, a steady income as Champion and Top Coordinator, and I get to be with my two favorite girls." He sighed happily with relaxation.

"Well, I think I know how to make this better," May said suddenly.

"How's that?" Brendan asked.

"Actually, I'm challenging you," May said playfully.

"To a battle?" Brendan asked with a confused tone.

May giggled and kissed him on the lips. "No, I'd rather not destroy the entire route," she said. "My challenge is this: to always love me, no matter what happens."

Brendan smiled warmly. "We are engaged," he said. "I think I've already started that challenge."

"Just making sure you knew what you were getting yourself into," she said with one more kiss.

Brendan held May close again. For now, this was all that mattered to him.

* * *

 **And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of the main portion of Brendan's Journey. I hope you've all enjoyed the over 3-year ride, because I have loved every second of it. Don't worry though, there is some post-game story coming at you in the form of…the Delta Episode.**

 **As usual, please review and let me know what you think of the longest chapter of this story.**

 **I'll have the Delta Episode Chapters started soon. But you'll just have to wait…until next time – jmoul18.**


	55. Delta 1

_Delta 1_

 _ **Three Years after Brendan became Champion**_

"Professor Cozmo! It's terrible, I need you to take a look at this right away," said a concerned astrophysicist at his computer.

The now gray-haired scientist, hearing the worried tone, almost ran to the man's side. "What's the problem?"

"Sir, the meteoroid's trajectory just changed out of nowhere. I ran the calculations repeatedly, and they all say the same thing," the scientist at the computer said. Cozmo didn't need to look at the screen's trajectory graph to know it was on a collision course with Earth.

"Where will it hit specifically?" he asked solemnly.

"Near a small island on Route 131. The meteoroid is six miles in diameter and it will most certainly wipe out the Hoenn region, as well as other regions nearby. Worst-case, it'll be enough to wipe out life on this planet."

"I see…" Dr. Cozmo looked to be deep in thought almost instantly. But…for it to suddenly change trajectory like that so suddenly…it would have to be…"

"Sir?"

Dr. Cozmo shook himself out of his stupor. "How long do we have before the meteor hits?"

"We have about three days," the scientist said.

"Contact Devon Corporation, tell them about this immediately. We'll need their help," he says.

"What about the Champion?" one of the assistants asked.

"He's four days from his wedding day. He and his fiancée don't need this stress right now," Dr. Cozmo said.

* * *

On the lone tower on Route 131, Sky Pillar, a woman with black hair about the length of her shoulders, with a black t-shirt with red claw-like patterns over her breasts, which was under a flowing tan cloak that looked almost like a jagged version of a Salamence's wings and tail, but the neck was surrounded by a black petal-shaped collar. She wore dark khaki shorts cut up to above her middle thigh. She wore gray open-toed shoes, with tan socks that went to just above her knees. On her right leg, however, there was a corkscrew-shaped anklet, almost looking like Rayquaza in flight, and it had a Keystone at the top of Rayquaza's head.

"Well, Aster, it seems that things have gotten tricky since those two stopped Kyogre and Groudon," she said to a little purple Pokémon with yellow ears. "But with this meteor approaching now…maybe tweaking a Keystone can help build up more of that same energy can get enough for what we need." The Whismur beside her gave a warble at the woman's words, making her smile weirdly. "Oh, Aster, I promise I'll protect you this time," she said with a hint of sadness and regret mixed with what most psychologists would consider a serious sign of instability.

* * *

In the three years that passed after Brendan took the title of Hoenn League Champion very little had been happening. Team Magma and Team Aqua had decided to merge into one group, which they now called Team Earth. It was a group dedicated simply to conservation efforts. With Shelly and Courtney working as the two leaders, Team Earth had done marvelous work in making Hoenn steadily look more beautiful and clean. Even Mauville, the most urban of cities, had become much cleaner by comparison to three years ago.

For Brendan and May personally, they had gotten much closer to one another. A year after Brendan became Champion, the two had moved in together, now owning one of the largest houses in Littleroot. They had enough space for their Pokémon to roam freely, and even space for battles and contest rehearsals. The following year, they started their own clothing line, which they designed for trainers. Since neither was creative with naming, they titled the line _Maple Apparel Outfitters,_ and their products had proven to be wildly popular across the Hoenn region, quickly turning it into a global clothing line.

For May, however, today was the biggest change, and it happened in her doctor's office three days before she and Brendan got married. She had been getting some minor nausea lately, and she felt more groggy than usual in the mornings. So, just to be safe, she went for a check-up. Her doctor had run some tests and come back rather quickly with the results, and a smile on her face.

"Well, Miss Birch, it seems that congratulations are in order for you and your fiancé," her doctor said as she looked over the test results. "Your due date is around April 15."

May blinked in surprise for a moment, not yet comprehending what she had just been told. "My…due date?" she asked briefly, sounding confused before her eyes went wide. "Y-you mean that I'm…pregnant?"

"Yes, you're going to be a mother," her doctor said with a giggle and smile, watching as May's hand went to her belly, the shock of what she'd just been told etched across her face. "It was the same for me when I found out I was pregnant with my son," she said with a giggle as she wrote down the vitamin supplements May should take for the next nine months. "Just wait to see Mr. Maple's face."

May blanched a little at the thought at first before smiling and relaxing. "Brendan might freak out," she said before laughing slightly. Her eyes filled with tears of joy at the thought. "But…I'm going to be a mom."

* * *

Back at their house, Brendan was breathing heavily after finishing a training session with his team in the training fields behind the house. During the three years since becoming Champion, he had taken to working out with his Pokémon, their bonds strengthening greatly. He wasn't wearing his trademark hat at the moment, having decided to only use it for special battles after he became Champion. Gwen was by his side as he walked back to the house. "Gwen, you had a really good training session today," he said. "I'm pretty sure you've perfected Hyper Voice in every sense of the word."

 _Well, I had your help to develop it,_ Gwen said happily. During the three years after Brendan became the Champion, Gwen and Samuel had begun spending more time together, both reminiscing and having fun the same way that Brendan and May would on their dates. _On a different topic, did you hear the news? You and May are going to have a meteor shower on your wedding night!_

"Yeah, I heard. It'll be so romantic," Brendan said whimsically before a look of frustration crossed his face. "But I'm still looking for a good wedding gift."

 _Still? Brendan, you have three days left to find it and wrap it,_ Gwen said.

Brendan was about to say that he hadn't found one that felt even adequate for the love of his life, but life decided to intervene in the form of a weird woman with a Whismur approaching them. Strangely, though, Brendan recognized the woman approaching.

"Well...if it isn't the Champion…so _nice_ to see you, even **if** you're sweating like an Emboar," she said as she approached him, her voice sounding almost venomous. "Do you remember me?"

"Yeah, aren't you Zinnia? You were the one who got me registered for the League three years ago, and took a picture for your daughter," Brendan said, noticing a wince on Zinnia's face as soon as he said daughter.

"Hmph, seems the _great_ Champion can be bothered to remember details like the people he's met," Zinnia said with more anger. "Well, I was considering telling you something you'd be interested in hearing…but I've decided against it. Asshole." With that, Zinnia seemed to almost storm off.

"What…was that all about?" Brendan asked.

 _I don't know, but something seemed off about her,_ Gwen said.

* * *

May was walking home thirty minutes later, deep in thought as she held her test results from her doctor, the bag of vitamins and supplements from the pharmacy, and silently thankful that most everything was within walking distance in Littleroot Town, even after growing since she and Brendan bought their home here. "How am I going to tell Brendan? Should I surprise him somehow, or should I make it more meaningful?" she mused, holding her purse as she walked happily. "I wonder how big I'm going to get." She giggled at the last part, but her contemplating was interrupted as a strange woman approached her from the direction of her home. May was surprised to recognize Zinnia, a receptionist from three years ago, especially in that outfit. It seemed to suit her quite nicely, but it was the crazed predatory look that worried May.

"Well, Aster, seems we have our prey here," Zinnia said, sounding crazed, with creepy eyes. "Let's see if you can keep your Key Stone." Zinnia tried to rush at May, but Miranda, who popped out of her Pokéball without a command, grabbed the girl's wrist before she got within four feet of May.

"Yeah, that's not happening," May said sassily. "You think that I can't defend myself?"

Zinnia scowled. "Fine, keep it. I have other people I can take Key Stones from…in Petalburg," she said as she got loose from Miranda's grip and threatening gaze before she and her Whismur ran off toward Oldale. She then saw a huge Salamence fly out of the trees to Petalburg.

"Well, that was…unsettling," May said before shaking her head and continuing her walk home.

* * *

Brendan, whose hair was still damp from his shower, had just finished making some paninis for lunch when his phone rang. "Huh…Wally?" he asked before he answered. "Hey, what's going on Wally? How are you and Lisia doing?"

"Hello, Brendan; Lisia is doing great, we just went on a lunch date at Siebold's new restaurant in Petalburg…but that's not why I'm calling. I'm calling because some strange thefts have been happening around Petalburg," he said. "I know you and May are close to your wedding, but could you please come help me with this?"

Brendan looked at the sandwiches that Gwen and his other Pokémon weren't eating, realizing that he would be need to rush his lunch, but he wouldn't be able to see May's smile when she came home to his cooking. Granted, he knew he'd at least leave May a surprise for when she came home. "Alright, but you owe me for this," Brendan said.

"I'm already your best man. What else do you want?" Wally replied with a chuckle.

"Good point. I'll fly over shortly," Brendan said before hanging up. He grabbed his sandwich and ate fast. Once he and his Pokémon were finished eating, he recalled them and wrote a small note for May. He then walked outside with Gwen and Avery, the Latias letting them onto her back before she Mega Evolved, her purple form and larger wings better suited to flight with two passengers. She then took off and flew to west to Petalburg.

* * *

May opened the front door to the house, immediately catching the scent of a chicken spinach and feta panini, one of her favorite sandwiches, and one of her favorites from Brendan's repertoire. She went to the kitchen and saw the beautifully made sandwich with a side of her favorite kettle-cooked salt and vinegar chips and a mixture of lemonade and sweet tea to drink. "Aww, thank you Brendan!" she said as she saw his note.

"May, something is happening in Petalburg, so I'm going to check it out. Enjoy lunch and please come join Gwen and me there. I love you. - Brendan" she read with a smile. "I love you too Brendan."

She took the sandwich and ate happily. "Guess I'm eating for two now," she said with a smile as she gently rested a hand on her stomach.

* * *

Brendan and Gwen had just landed in Petalburg near where Wally and Lisia were living together, and he immediately heard a disturbance from a gruff, familiar voice. "Boy, I swear, if you're screwing with me, I will beat the hell out of you," Matt said. He was in a pair of khaki pants, like those a park ranger would've worn, as his Team Earth uniform. He was starting to muscle himself closer to Wally, who was standing in front of Lisia protectively. It was when Wally perked up that Matt noticed Brendan and winced as he remembered the severe beating the Champion had given him last time they had met in Team Aqua's base. "Umm, what is the punk doing here?"

"Matt, I could ask you the same thing," Brendan said with a look of annoyance. "What the hell are you doing? Because it looks like you're harassing my best man and May's maid of honor. I highly doubt that Shelly will approve of what you're doing."

"My damn Key Stone is missing. I dozed off in the park, and it was gone when I woke up," Matt said in a fit. "I'm positive these two stole it to prank me."

"Why would we want your Key Stone?" Lisia asked. "We both had our own until a few minutes ago."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Brendan asked. "What happened to them?"

Wally sighed. "We left them in our apartment while we went to lunch, since the Siebold's restaurants apparently have a 'No battles or battling gear' policy. When we came home, our bedroom window was opened, and both our Key Stones were gone from our bracelets."

"Hmmm…there was a weird woman who came to my house and said something about stealing Key Stones. Maybe she's going around to find every trainer who can use Mega Evolution and steal their Key Stones," Brendan said in a contemplative voice

That was when May came up behind Brendan, hugging him from behind. "Hey," she said, her tone serious, yet sympathetic as she spoke. "Glad I got here in time. I heard you guys talking, and it sounds like Zinnia got to all of you three." When he saw the brunette, Matt moved like he was about to crouch and guard his shins.

Lisia, now ignoring Matt, walked forward to May. "Hey girl!" she said as May let go of Brendan and tightly hugged Lisia. "So, you know the girl who stole our Key Stones?"

"Then you know where she is!" Matt shouted as he approached May. "Tell me where the bitch is, right now!"

"Matt, shut up, or Erza will be the one hurting you," May said calmly, and clearly not intimidated by the man's façade.

Matt grunted in frustration. "Whatever, I don't have time for this," he growled as he stormed off, heading west.

Lisia sighed. "Well, that was really fun," she said. "Sorry we can't spend time with you two today. Wally and I need to go make sure that nothing else was stolen before we get the police here, and Wally needs to go pick up his tuxedo for your wedding."

May hugged Lisia one more time. "Alright. You two be safe and remember that you can call us at any time if you need help," she said. "At least until the wedding night. Then, Brendan, Gwen, our Pokémon, and I will all be in Lumiose City for the honeymoon," she said playfully.

Lisia giggled as she and Wally headed back inside. "We will. You two have fun!"

Brendan then smiled at May. "Hey, did you enjoy the gift I left for you?" he asked.

May kissed him in response. "You're so sweet. I love you," she said as they began walking, hoping to get home.

"So, Zinnia tried to steal your Key Stone too, huh?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah, but Miranda stopped her and glared her down, so I don't think she'll be trying it again," May said as they started to make their way through Petalburg, hoping to get a couple's walk together through Routes 102 and 101.

As they got out of Wally's and Lisia's apartment complex, and May decided now was her chance. "Hey, Brendan, I need to tell you something," she said.

"About what?" he asked curiously.

"Well…it's about my doctor's appointment today," she said in an attempt to keep the suspense for Brendan. "Aaannnd…" she was cut off by the ringing of Brendan's phone. She stopped as Brendan went to check who it was.

"Steven Stone?" he asked. "Sorry May, mind if I take this call first?"

"It's not a problem," May said, though she was cursing in her head angrily over the interruption. Even though she didn't want to, she was able to wait. She wanted to tell Brendan when he was able to pay full attention.

Brendan noticed how she was mildly annoyed as he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Brendan, sorry to call so suddenly, but something critical has come up. Could you please come to Rustboro? We need to talk face-to-face immediately," the silver-haired man said.

"Alright. We can be there in a few moments," Brendan said as he hung up and put his phone back into his pocket. "Seems we're needed in Rustboro…specifically Devon's headquarters."

"Oh? What's going on?" May asked.

"All he said was that it was something critical," Brendan said. Gwen just touched their shoulders.

 _Let's get this over with already,_ Gwen said before they teleported to the corporation headquarters.

The building hadn't changed a bit in the almost four years since they first came to Rustboro together when their journey began. The doorway still featured a small statue of an Aerodactyl on the arch, and the interior was still granite flooring, with glass portions to show fossils and rare gemstones underneath. Steven was already waiting for them in the lobby. "Brendan, May, Gwen, it's great to see you all. How is everything going?"

"We're doing well," May said with a smile. "The wedding preparations are getting hectic, but I think we're all set."

"May, I remember you were freaking out about everything a month ago," Brendan said with a chuckle.

"You hush," May said playfully with an elbow nudge.

Steven chuckled a little before his expression turned serious. "I'm glad things are going so well…but we unfortunately don't have time for pleasantries. All too often, my intuition turns out to be right, but I never expected we would meet under circumstances as bad as these. Please, come with me, we need to talk in private." They all went up the elevator to Mr. Stone's office, and Devon Corporation's president, who was close to retiring, stood waiting for them. "Dad, our guests have arrived."

"Brendan, May, and Gwen, you've all grown up a great deal since you were last in this office. It's been nearly four years since that day," Mr. Stone said kindly, shaking their hands and gesturing to the chairs set in front of his desk. They all sat politely.

"I think so," Brendan said politely. He could see that Mr. Stone was beginning to feel his age, but the President was still keeping his composure quite well.

"It's great to see you all are well," he said, but Steven cleared his throat clearly enough to remind his father that they needed to be efficient with their time. "Oh, Steven, you are so impatient. You need to learn to be more patient if you are to take over this company soon."

"Dad…" Steven said as a gentle, yet firm reminder.

"Yes…I know…I just needed to get myself ready," Mr. Stone said as he turned to Brendan, May, and Gwen. "I'm sorry that this has to happen so close to your wedding day, but…I need to start on a very unpleasant and heavy topic. Are you ready to take this all in?"

Brendan looked at May, whose hand had gone to her stomach, but he didn't think anything of it. She just seemed to be relaxing a little in the chair. "I think we need to hear it, since I am the Champion," Brendan said.

Mr. Stone nodded and took a breath. "Let me first ask how much you know about the great war 3000 years ago."

"Not much other than it was ended by something called _The Ultimate Weapon_ ," May said.

"I figured as much. It's not an event that people like to talk about. Let me take us back 3000 years ago to when that terrible war happened in what is now the Kalos region. As you said, the war was brought to an end by the power of The Ultimate Weapon, a weapon so terrible that it left generational scars in the world. Now…the question many people don't know the answer to is where that weapon got its power. The answer...is the life energy of all Pokémon."

"It…killed Pokémon for the power...to kill countless more?" May asked, disgust and sadness in her voice.

The energy that could be gained by the sacrifice of so many Pokémon... There are surely many people who would call it reprehensible," Mr. Stone said, and he paused for a moment. "But my grandfather, the president of Devon before me, said this... 'Couldn't we use the energy to improve the lives of people and Pokémon?' And so, he developed our greatest creation here at the Devon Corporation: Infinity Energy."

"Infinity Energy?" Brendan asked. He thought the term was familiar, but he couldn't recall what it was.

"It's commonly known for being the energy that triggers Mega Evolution and Z-Moves," Steven said.

"Thanks to Infinity Energy, Devon was able to become one of the top industries in Hoenn and developed into the giant you see today," Mr. Stone said. "You may be surprised to learn that the Devon Parts you recovered for us four years ago were, in fact, parts of a motor that would make it possible to power a submarine using Infinity Energy. It wasn't long before we began to expand our attempts at furthering human development," he paused for a breath. "So, we naturally moved to exploring space. The rockets launched from the Mossdeep Space Center using our Infinity Energy…They are the true results of our dreams, our passion, and our technology. But, never did we imagine they could end up as the best hope for saving our world."

Mr. Stone took a deep breath as his tone got more serious. "My preamble has been quite long, but we've now arrived at the real issue." He turned to the windows of the office and sighed. "There is an overwhelming catastrophe which now approaches us in the form of a huge asteroid, more than six miles in diameter. It redirected somehow, and it's currently on track to collide with our planet. It is expected to make landfall in just over two days...meaning the day before your wedding could very easily be the end of all life on this planet."

Brendan, May, and Gwen all gave a different reaction to this news. Brendan looked stoic, almost like he had been given a terminal diagnosis. May looked like she was having war flashbacks. Finally, Gwen looked almost calm. It was the Gardevoir who spoke up. _I'm guessing you have a plan, otherwise neither you nor Steven would be so calm if you didn't._

Mr. Stone nodded. "We've been working together with the Mossdeep Space Center, which was first to recognize this danger. We are devising countermeasures that would use our rockets, but…for these plans to succeed, we need a Meteorite Shard."

"So, are we heading to Meteor Falls?" May asked.

"No, we traced the closest Meteorite Shard to Granite Cave in Dewford," Steven said. "I'm heading to Mossdeep Space Center for now to get this sorted out and to help with any preparations."

Brendan nodded. "I see. Then I suppose we're heading to Dewford to get the Meteorite Shard first," he said. "We'll join you at the Space Center when we get it."

With that, they left the building. As soon as they got outside, they sent out Avery and Drake, who were ready to go quickly with this flight. "Well, are you ready to see Dewford again?" May asked as she got onto Drake's back.

Brendan kissed her cheek as he and Gwen got onto Avery. "Race you there!" he said as Avery flew off.

"You cheater!" May called out playfully with a giggle as Drake followed his sister into the sky. Even with the looming threat of a meteor that could, and likely would, wipe out life on this planet, Brendan still made her smile and laugh. It was that exact quality that May had always dreamed she would find in the father of her kids. It now seemed that dream was becoming a reality.

* * *

 **And here is the first chapter of the Delta Episode. This took a lot less time than I expected, and I am pretty happy with it.**

 **I will hopefully be able to keep this pace of writing going over summer, since I'll have a lot of free time.**

 **As always, please leave a review, and let me know what you think (Just please don't be an ass).**

 **Until next time ~ jmoul18**


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